Things That Could Be
by adzara
Summary: The Thousand Year blood war has come to an unsuccessful close. Rangiku watched Yhwach destroy the world. When a second chance is offered she takes it without question. Rangiku is taken back to before it began. Struggling with the burden of the future and the pain of the past she vows to make things different. Whatever- whoever it may take. (Time travel fic. Semi-dark)
1. The End

_AN: So this is an idea that came to me after I had a dream about Rangiku and Ulquiorra. Unrelated I know but somehow my spaghetti mind got me here. This is purely for my own satisfaction and wanting to express my ideas on paper but I hope someone else can enjoy this too! Please review and give me input! I love getting new ideas._

 _There will be light spoilers as this does concern the Thousand Year Blood War ark. But most of what is mentioned in this story is non-canonical after chapter 600 or so._

 _This story is Rangiku-centric. It won't have many OC's but there might be one or two along the way to further the plot. I will try to keep everyone as canonical as possible behavior wise so please give me your input and let me know what you think of them!_

 _Also this chapter has been updated and touched up so maybe reread if you read it before 8/2? Thanks!_

xxxx

 **Chapter one: The End**

Death is much more dramatic the second time.

That was the thought filling my mind as I lay there amongst the rubble that was once Soul Society. A location turned into to a battleground after the first year of the Thousand Year blood war and a graveyard during what followed. Had souls not disappeared after a while I'm sure I would have been laying on top of a few. The stench was still in the air.

A cool breeze drafted past and it made me realize that everything hurt. The stab wound on my left leg. The burns on my back. The spot where my right arm had been years ago. My pink scarf and half of my Haori was still in tact but the necklace that was so precious to me had been destroyed so long ago I couldn't recall what it looked like.

Red and Gray ash flicked across my gaze. The smell of copper and sulfur was strong. A thick warm liquid touched the fingers of my left arm. It formed little red streams in the cracks of the ground but there was still enough to coat my arm. And this blood wasn't actually mine.

I tried to laugh at the irony that the one next to me actually bled still, but it came out as a gargled cough as a mouthful of blood tried to slip down my throat. I turned my head to the side, trying to drain my mouth of the sweet and salty substance.

Haineko was gone, only the hilt remaining. She was disintegrating and disappearing from my very soul as I faded away. I was glad I'd never get the chance to miss her. Living without something that was part of you...

The stump where my right arm had been ached in reminder.

When I turned to the side I could see the man next to me with his eyelids pulled back. But he couldn't see me. It was just empty eye sockets where there used to be the most piercing black eyes.

"Bya.." The word wouldn't come out.

It mattered not. The man couldn't hear me. Blood was crusted around his ears just like his eyes. His mouth. His nose. Every orifice. His chest barely moved with the strain of keeping alive. He couldn't even kill himself to free himself from the pain.

Matted black hair stuck to his face, a few pieces entering the empty sockets. If there was anything other than blood in my stomach I might have used the last bit of energy I had to throw up. If only he would just die already. But the Noble Kuchiki was nothing if not stubborn.

I slowly reached my hand out in what had to be the most painful movement yet. I clumsily wiped a piece of hair from his face. I tried to restore what he had once been. I wanted to see the noble and refined man again. Not this mutilated shell.

I couldn't. I couldn't unsee it.

Through the pain I wouldn't admit I was scared. If anything I was relieved. In a bittersweet way I was glad it was finally over.

Pain. Relief. Regret.

I lost. WE lost. As I reflected on the good times- times forgotten in the war- I wished it had ended another way. I was glad before the war I'd spent so much time slacking off. I was glad that I got that last drink with Kira-Kun in. I was glad I dragged Hisagi-Kun to the Hotsprings. Now all I really wanted was one more day like that.

A gargled noise came from Byakuya's mouth. A plea. One I couldn't ignore. If I adjusted my eyes up I could see orange hair over the rubble. A dark figure not too far off. Footsteps slowly vibrating through the earth. Anticipation made my hair stand on end.

A feeling of fear penetrated my hand. Byakuya Kuchiki felt afraid.

I wasn't going to live much longer. Not with half my torso missing and my entire body shredded. I might not even last as long as Byakuya.

I couldn't let that happen. Not out of a desire to live but a desire to end his pain. The hand still resting on his face slid down to his throat. I didn't cry. I didn't look away. My nails dug deeply into his skin. At first it looked like I was strangling him. But I pressed harder.

Oh how it hurt. The effort of it was shortening the time I had left. It was splitting my fingertips. I coughed, blood splattering his face. But I pressed on. My nails dug into the tender skin of his flesh until it broke under the strain. My nails cracked with the effort as I forced fingers into my skin. I was slowly ripping his throat out. It was more painful for him but through it I felt a rush of relief. From me or him I didn't know.

I never looked away because I needed to see what I was doing. I would give Byakuya that much respect. He convulsed one last time. His tongueless mouth was forced open by all the blood behind his teeth like floodgates.

When he finally stilled and the blood stopped running completely I let my hand fall. I couldn't look any longer. I never cried, I never showed weakness. My eyes directed to the landscape beyond. The dark shadowy man was closer now.

I was glad nobody had seen my final act.

"S-sorry Ich- Ichigo... In the... end, I wasn' much help was... I?" It was surprisingly hard to talk.

But the Orange haired Ryoka lying beyond didn't respond. I could barely see his orange ruffles sticking up above the rubble and part of his face- covered in red and indiscernible except a stark eye. Blood pooled into the wrinkles in the corner of his eye like a tear.

An empty brown eye.

Kurosaki Ichigo was dead.

No. I focused to see past the blood pouring out of my own head wound clouding my vision and my brain. Ichigo was-

"Still alive?"

At first I thought the cold voice was speaking to me. Despite the previous encounters my heart still skipped a beat in the same fear I swore I wouldn't feel. The spiritual energy of the man wasn't crushing these days. I'd long since adjusted. But I could still feel it permeating every part of my body. It always made me feel so vulnerable.

But the footsteps of the tall dark haired Quincy approached Ichigo instead. He was an older man, striking a slight resemblance to Ichigo-kun in his raggedy appearance. Age hadn't treated Ichigo well after all. The middle aged man looked well beyond his years.

The Quincy's hair was black as the veil behind Hueco Mundo. It bellowed in the wind and blended with his black cloak as he raised his sword. Then there was movement as a half-broken black sword was raised just in time to block the attack. The Shockwave was strong enough to blow a thick layer of dust over me.

"Don't worry Rangiku, this ain't over yet."

But the way his voice shook broke that promise.

"Your resistance is futile. Your friends are gone. Soul society has fallen. Your head captain died centuries ago. Let go now Ichigo. You have done well my child. You have done better than anyone before you. Do not despair! I shall give you a glorious death." Yhwach taunted Ichigo.

As if on cue Ichigo glanced towards me. I could see his dull brown eye slowly regaining light and it terrified me. How could he still hope? Oh Ichigo...

"Is it because this one lives?"

I felt fear. Cold and hollow. I swore I wouldn't but it invaded me. Byakuya fell into my line of sight once more. This man wasn't right in the head. Though calm and collected exterior was just a farce. He'd do anything to destroy Ichigo body and soul. It was nothing more than a game and Yhwach knew no bounds.

To prevent the risking the same faith I desperately wished I could end it like I did Byakuya's. But all my energy had been depleted in that last act.

Yhwach was above me now. I turned my eyes from Byakuya to him and kept my gaze firm.

"It will be done," Yhwach spoke.

"Rangiku-"

I heard the start of Ichigo's sentence. Then nothing.

 _Maybe dying a second time was actually much less dramatic._

* * *

 _Then... I felt._

That was enough to tell me something was wrong. Souls that died re-interred the rebirth cycle but I was finished by a Quincy. Part of what made the thousand year blood war so hard was the fact that we would never be reborn.

And yet I felt the sun kissing my cheeks. I felt the wind massaging my scalp. The ground beneath me was jagged and sharp with rocks. But it wasn't the same rubble as before. And it was much hotter and brighter out. I felt no pain at all!

I bolted up, the force of my actions stronger than intended as I suddenly flew forward with a small shriek. It was like gravity was nearly gone.

"What- What is this!" I exclaimed. How was I alive at all? I was definitely dead and why-

When I tried to get a feel for things and stood up the same thing happened as before. I tripped over my own feat and ended up on my behind with a pile of dust.

I found it funny that it was what alerted me that my body really was strange was how my chest didn't tug painfully when I jolted down.

And when I looked down it was gone. Well, not completely but they were small. In fact my whole body was. Even the right arm that was supposed to be missing was back. But "A freaking child?" I whined loudly.

I would be the only one reborn with my memories still in tact. Even though I wanted to forget them.

"You must have just woken up," A kind old voice came from the left.

I jolted my head in the direction of the voice. My left hand quickly went to my side to grasp at the air where my sword should have been. I only stopped when a realization hit me. I knew that voice!

An old man stood a little ways away from me in the dirt clearing. He carried himself with raggedy cane. "You must have-"

 _"-just arrived eh little girly?"_ I finished in my mind. I knew this moment. I knew exactly what this man would say to me as he walked closer. I wasn't just reborn as anyone. I'd been reborn as myself.

That or Aizen was alive and playing a cruel joke. One he shouldn't know anything about.

This man was the one that had first guided me in the ways of the soul society when I first arrived in North Rukon district 64. Thought I didn't remember much about my early days I remembered him. I remembered everything about this moment.

And the stark reality was in front of me. I was somehow back at the beginning. I didn't know exactly how long ago I got to the soul society- I never counted the days until I met Gin- but it was probably about 400 years before I joined soul society give or take a hundred years.

While the old man spoke I tuned out the familiar scene to try and think about it. I had no Zanpakuto- Heineko wasn't responding either which was concerning since our relationship had improved in the thousand year blood war. She rarely ever ignored me.

But I was back at the beginning. This was way before Aizen. And even if this was an illusion I had to take the chance! And if it wasn't then I needed to-

"I-I'm sorry Kito-san I have to go," I stood up suddenly, bowing to the old man before stumbling away like a newborn deer trying to learn how to walk again. The old man didn't get a chance to ask how I could know his name or anything else for that matter.

My only concern was to get to the soul society. If I was in district 64 like I was last time I had a few days of flash step before I could make it there. Then I'd explain what had happened with the final war to Yamamoto-taichou and we'd stop it.

It would be easy right?


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Rose**

26.

26 monsters with powers rivaling the head captains had invaded. The whole Seireitei had been unprepared for an enemy of that magnitude. Us lieutenants were powerless at first. Even squad 0 was taken down.

It was 500 years before the war was labeled the thousand year blood war. By then Ichigo had died of course (he fell to Ywatch in the 10th battle) and became a soul. In order for him to be retrieved and retrained Hitsugaya-taichou and I had left the battle for several years. We left our friends and colleagues behind as canon fodder to buy time in a moment of relief and regret.

But truthfully I didn't want to think about the war yet if I didn't have to. Instead as I begun to move in the direction of soul society I tried to organize my thoughts and the current situation. I still had my spiritual pressure- which had grown more immense during the war. My flash step had improved too.

We had to Jumpstart our training using the most straining and forbidden methods. Methods banned by the 46 for good reason. Of course Kyoraku-Soutaichou and Kurotsuchi were at the forefront of that. In the future my power would be nothing to brag about but now I was quite strong.

And yet I didn't have Haineko. The physical Zanpakuto. If left alone in the next 50 years she would reappear but I didn't want to wait that long. I couldn't get by with just Kido. It was much quicker getting a nameless Zanpakuto to imprint my soul on again.

"I know you're in there you stupid cat," I growled lightly. I could feel her but I couldn't hear her in the real world without the Zanpakuto.

Suddenly I stopped mid-flashtep.

As I clenched my fist to the side I noticed blades of grass withering. "Shit," I murmured under my breath. I had to learn to reign in my spiritual pressure better than that! I'd gotten out of the habit in war.

I was running low on spiritual pressure. What's more I was insanely hungry! A fresh body obviously meant I needed food. I steadied myself, pressing my left hand to my forehead. After several minutes I regained myself.

Now I wished I wouldn't have been so hasty. If it was 4-500 years before Aizen and about 1000 until the end of my life then Aizen wasn't even in the picture yet. Hell he wasn't even in the Gotei 13! And the Quincies were bidding our time.

"U-um excuse me!"

I started, turning around with my left hand at my side. It felt so uncomfortable to not have Haineko. I couldn't even relax hen I saw it was just a little boy.

Well little boy as in a few years older than me appearance wise. He looked to be Hitsugaya's age. More surprisingly he was managing extremely well after the exertion of my spiritual pressure- now reigned in to that of a normal souls. A few beads of sweat rolled down his face but other than that he was fine.

Of course I didn't sense him. His spiritual pressure was above average but nothing compared to a seated officer. If nurtured correctly this little boy could become a fine soul reaper.

He seemed out of place. Something almost noble. His hair was a lot like mine. Shoulder length and slightly wavy. It was an even lighter shade of blond. And something about his face was disinterested. He wore a simple grey brown Yukata but the way he wore it made it seem almost refined.

Most interestingly he held a gottan in his hands as naturally as any professional.

"Excuse me?" He was waiving a hand in front of his face to call attention and that's when I realized he was talking.

"Ah sorry! Yes little boy what can I help you with? This big sisters kinda in a hurry."

He blinked. "Big sister? But you're younger than me."

I stiffened. He was right and that was such an obvious slip up.

"Ah yeah," I laughed lightly.

He glanced around as if to make sure they were alone in the empty wheat field. "Are you- Are you a soul reaper?"

This boy was quick.

"Of course not!" I said defensively. "How could I?"

"Well it's just," The boy shrugged. "For a second I felt your spiritual pressure."

Now this piqued my interest. Hardly anyone in the Rukongai or any unseated officers could properly sense spiritual pressure. Before the war I would have recruited him in a heartbeat. "What's your name?"

The boy looked up, seeming pleased I'd taken enough interest to talk with him. He moved closer through the grass and slung his Gottan across his back like a sword. "Otoribashi Rose. Um, but everyone just calls me Rose. I prefer it."

I nodded. "Okay Rose-ku-"

"Are you okay?"

I wasn't. I was drinking in his appearance. His hair. His pale face. His tattered Yukata that he wore with a sophisticated air. His musical instrument. This was Rose, captain of the 3rd division turned vizard then returned as captain only to-

I shook my head yes. "Mhm. My name's Matsumoto Rangiku."

The Rose I knew had been dead for two centuries.

"Well Ran-chan, why are you so strong? How old are you? Are you sure you aren't a shinigami? Why are you in a rush?""

I held my hands out defensively. "You sure do ask a lot of questions for a kid. I'm a couple decades old," try 100, "And I don't know I just have the spiritual pressure I have. I'm actually heading to the Seireitei to-"

"Me too!" The boy chimed in. He finally seemed passionate about something and not bored. "I'm hoping to join the academy. The entrance exams are in a few weeks so if I hurry I'll make it in time. If we go together we'll be more likely to make it without any attacks or anything. "

I frowned. He must be newer to be so trusting of a stranger- even a little girl. "How old are you Rose?"

Rose pressed a finger to his lips. "1 decade. I died when I was 13. I don't think I've aged much since though."

"So you still remember?"

He nodded slowly. "But sometimes it gets harder. How about you?"

He was walking now, towards the Seireitei. And for some reason I was following. I guess I just didn't want to let him out of my sight. "Not a thing. I never could remember when I was alive. I think I died when I was around 10 though. I haven't aged much since.

He nodded. "Ne Ran-chan, do you think we'll both make it into the Academy?"

I swallowed. Truthfully I didn't want to go to the academy. I wanted to try and talk to Yamamoto-soutaichou. I knew the likelihood of being able to would be small. But like hell was I going to the academy again. The first 6 years were boring enough since Gin graduated after the first year.

Gin!

I spun around, looking back to where I had been. What if I didn't meet Gin again? He was alive now. Just imagining the possibility of spending years and years with him again like before was so tempting. It was tempting enough to forget the whole mission. Just for 100 years of peace in a small cottage where it snowed more often than not.

But how could I do something so selfish. Even after 500 years and not a thing to remember him by, I still would give almost anything for another day with him.

"Ran-chan?" Rose was looking at me with confusion.

Almost anything. I couldn't let everyone die again though. I didn't want to see Rose like I did last time. Skewered on Hisagi's Bankai. His blood broke Hisagi. It was what cause Hisagi to truly believe he was good for nothing but killing. Not even I could bring him out of that.

Then the chain of reactions couldn't be ignored.

"Ran-chan you sure do space out a lot."

I was snapped back to reality. "Sorry! Ah well we have plenty of time. Why the rush? I mean most people wait at least a century before entering the academy."

He looked at me like I grew another head. "But I'm hungry. And I don't like not sleeping in a bed. And there's no good music in the Rukongai."

Ah... good old materialistic Rose.

"Well okay. I'll come with you to the Seireitei then I'll go my separate way." I hurried up to follow Rose. He took out his Gottan and lightly strummed on the strings as he walked at a leisurely pace. "Let's go."

* * *

It would be agonizingly slow to walk but I was too hungry to deplete more spiritual pressure on flash step. I didn't want to separate from someone I had known either. And now was the time to start making connections.

It turned into two days of travel and sleeping out in the open before we'd found a place to stop for food and shelter in district 63.

"Um, Rose-kun just so you know I don't have any money." I gently reminded him as we approached the center of the small village. Most new souls couldn't possibly have money. We normally had to trade services.

Rose just nodded. "I know Ran-chan. I got this," his eyes lit up as he entered a small inn.

He quickly made a B line for the mr behind the counter who clearly owned the place and divulged into conversation. I caught up to him to hear the tail end.

"-two of them."

"Two meals and a room? Well tell you this if you can play that Gottan and draw a sizable crowd for this inn I'll pay-"

Then the man turned his eyes on me. And Rose looked confused but I knew exactly what the look from the middle aged man was. When I was younger I couldn't deal with men as well so Gin handled them for me. When I grew up I became overly aware of their crude stares. The temptation of me being me ( I wouldn't even kid myself about my looks) and fighting the sin of being with a child.

Few grown men knew how to react and I got all sorts of different responses. I didn't even have to use my ears to hear what he was going to say.

The man scratched his chin thoughtfully. "You know I'm a very generous man. How about this little girly works for me- just for a few days- and I'll make sure your room and board are covered plus a few coins for the road. Because I'm such a nice uncle."

As I stared into his laughing face I wished Haineko was still at my waste. Instead I gritted my teeth. "Okay-"

"No thanks," Rose interrupted me with a bored expression as he climbed off the stool. "I think we'll try another inn. Thanks Mr."

And the little boy was then grabbing me by the hand and pulling me away. It was cute in a way.

"Why didn't you freak out on him Ran-chan," Rose questioned, his gray eyes were too discerning and slightly sad.

I shrugged. "I was just gonna take his money when he wasn't looking and run."

Rose gasped. "You can't do something like stealing. That's horrible!"

Ah. I'd forgotten. Rose was a kind heart. He'd loved music more than anything and was always in his own peaceful world up till the end despite the wars. He was one of the few that could keep smiling.

"You're right. What to do now?"

Rose seemed to have it all under control. Once they reached the busy marketplace of the town- kawago - Rose set up in a less busy corner and started to lightly strum his instrument. The notes were clear, beautiful, and too precise for a child. He truly was a genius.

I closed my eyes. I knew this tune well. It had been one of Rose's favorites during the war.

So when the second chorus came about I had no problem singling softly along.

 _"It is my sorrow bland,_

 _the forest is no more,_

 _the cat that once sat upon the floor,_

 _wont see the smiles of the young men,_

 _the wind gives us no rest."_

The lyrics seemed so sharp now. I kept my eyes closed, focusing on the music and the soft words coming from my mouth. My voice had never been as great as some of the world of the living singers but it was pleasant enough.

I doubted Rose understood that song at this point. It was about a mother left behind as all her children went to war.

But soon the song was over and an applause Rose. Next thing I knew we were at another inn, Rose paying for the room.

Once behind the safety of the door I turned to him. "You really are too trusting Rose," I scolded lightly.

"But Ran-chan, is that a bad thing?"

I was about to say yes but I found myself hesitating. I mean Rose had become Rose just how he was. Maybe trying to change things wouldn't be for the best.

* * *

In place of dreams Haineko came to me. She took the shape of a large gray cat the size of an ocelot. Apparently the unnatural human shape manifested from Muramasa was hard to maintain. Hitsugaya-taichou mentioned that Hyorinmaru also returned to being an Ice dragon in time.

" _Bout time we had a talk, old woman_ ," she purred.

"Who are you calling old women?" I growled back. I sat up in my inner world. As usual it was cold, snowy. In the background there was a perimeter of volcanoes, violently active. I could smell the heat from where I was. But the ground around me was white and snowy Just like when Gin and I were alone in the cabin in the woods.

Despite leaving nothing behind for me to remember him by, my very inner world was a reflection of our bond.

I softened. "I was worried you disappeared too, Haineko. Sorry that we, er, died."

" _What did you think you could do against that old man Yhwach. Even with the third state. At least you were a good meat shield for Ichigo-kun._"

I grimaced. Haineko was right. I was there during the last battle and I'd been struck down by Yhwach himself trying to buy Ichigo just a second more time.

"You feel different Haineko. Is that just my imagination."

Haineko curled up in a ball on my lap before saying, " _I do feel different._ "

When Haineko saw my eyebrows draw together she just rested her head on her paws and let out a breath. " _I don't know what it means Rangiku. Don't ask me. Just figure it out. After all I'm just a part of you_."

And that was that. Haineko didn't kick me out of the inner realm though. It was an agreement of the past. Instead of proper sleep I spent as many nights in her inner world as possible. And not for anything as noble as training. It was just an escape.

After a while though I was pulled from my inner realm by movement in the real world. When I came to it happened so suddenly I wasn't even aware of my body moving.

I was on the floor above Rose, who was on his back with his hands raised up in defense. I had a knee on his chest and my left hand was poised to strike- or would have been had Haineko been in it and not MIA.

Well shoot.

The next moment was awkward. I pulled away from him and sat down on the floor. "So..."

Rose sat up and flicked some hair over his shoulder. "I won't bother asking. It wasn't a very stylish way of waking up though."

I nodded in relief. I was glad it was Rose I first ran into. He never cared much about others problems.

"Why did you wake me," I asked.

"Well it's morning. And I'm hungry. You slept forever. And the Innkeeper said they'd prepare some water for a bath outside. You can bathe first if you want."

I nodded. "Thanks I'll make it quick!"

He disappeared out of the little room and I left for the outdoor bath. It was a small wooden barrel but a few hot coals in the ground were keeping it warm. I stripped my Yukata off quickly and got in.

It had been a while since I'd gotten this luxury. It felt like it was washing away layers of dirt though I knew I was quite clean.

In a bit my body started to turn red but it was a good sting. "Man they couldn't make it any nicer if they tried," I sighed. I remembered taking a bath at an inn just like this and teasing Hisagi. I'd known of the confusion I caused during that mission but it was just too fun!

Ah... dwelling on the past was dangerous. I pulled myself up, slipping slightly and retracting my hand with an 'ouch'. Inspecting further I could see a tiny splinter in my hand from the barrel.

Then I laughed.

I don't really know why but I found it funny. I was alive and well and I got a splinter of all things. Just days ago loosing a limb wouldn't have made me bat an eye. The water was hot. The morning air was cool. It smelt nice. I had my right arm back.

I was alive. So I laughed about it. Out of everyone it was me who was given another chance? It was so unreal. I couldn't stop my fit even when I collapsed back into the tub with my arms around my stomach and my head tilted to the side in hysteria. It was such a relief. I was finally realizing the situation and how lucky I was.

I was so caught up in myself I didn't notice the door slide open. I didn't see Rose standing there with confusion until he cleared his throat. "I brought you a cloth to dry with Ran-chan. But are you okay?"

Remembering we were kids I felt no shyness. I turned around in the tub and nodded as I calmed myself. "Y-yes. Sorry I just thought of something funny."

"Oh okay," He blinked but recovered and set the cloth down. Turning around he gave one final look over his shoulder and asked, "Then why were you crying like that?"

It was rhetorical.

* * *

 **AN:**

In this chapter and going forward I want to expand more on the mentality of Rangiku. And more specifically the PTSD that she has from the war. I imagine there's a book of psychological problems going on right now in her head.

I have the Zanpakuto back to their pre-Muramasa era though. My logic is similar to how Zabimaru first appeared differently back after the battle with Ichigo. Also none of them recognized their Zanpakuto human form. I could understand the Lieutenants not knowing, after all the manifestation happens close to Bankai. However even the captains seemed confused at first. So I thought it was more accurate to bring them back. This is one of the only anime-only ark I'll use.

I haven't a clue why I chose Rose TBH. He just seemed like the best early on character with loose loyalties. Also he's self-centered so he won't find out much about her too early. Plus Rose is fun and didn't get enough attention.

Lemme know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:** **Consequences**

It was a little awkward as we left the district and traveled further south for the next few days. We were careful to avoid ay of the heavily populated areas. Rose shuffled along behind me, strumming his Gottan. We stopped when we crossed a large field past district 60 and came to a treeline.

Rose whistled. "What a huge forest. We have to pass through it to get to the seireitei?"

I nodded thoughtfully. The Forest of Kuno. I thought back to the timeframe. In the future a large mission would be lead to cleanse the forest between district 59 and 60. The 30KM stretch was filled with hollows back in this day. It was called the forest of Kuno, or Anguish, for the cries that came out at night.

"I don't like the feel of the forest. If we go 20KM to the west we'll be able to pass around it," I said. I looked over my shoulder at Rose when he didn't respond.

He was frowning. "We will not make it in time for the exams if we wait. Let's just get through it quickly."

This was tempting fate. But if Rose wanted to go through this forest then surely he also passed through it in his first timeline. And it wasn't like I couldn't protect us if push came to shove. So I agreed.

We weren't even 1KM in when Rose started to shiver. "It's unusually cold."

"Probably because the trees block out the sun." It was hard to see.

"Hey Ran-chan how did you know that we could go around the forest?"

"I asked someone before we left. Have you got any of that food left?"

From his sleeve he pulled a piece of dried fish. "You sure do eat a lot for a girl."

I glared at him, shoving the fish into my mouth. He did have a point. Souls with higher spiritual pressure in the Rukongai only needed to eat once a month or so. Rose probably got hungry once a week. Those with captain level abilities needed to eat every day though. It was inconvenient. It was like the stronger you got the more human you became.

I swallowed the meager mouthful (missing Sake) and reached within myself. My spiritual pressure was almost fully restored. If I got a little sleep I would be back to normal.

An hour passed as the sun set. "We started too late. We might have to spend the night," Rose said

"I'd rather ravel through the night Rose-kun. I don't want to be in this forest any longer than I have to."

A cry split the air. Rose jumped, clutching onto my hand in fear. "W-what was that?"

I looked up at him. "I haven't seen one myself but if what I was told is true... that was a hollow."

Rose swallowed. "Like the soul-eating demons?"

I nodded. Sugar-coating it would only increase the risk of dying. I couldn't imagine Rose passing through here alone. Closing my eyes as we walked hand in hand, I let a tiny amount of spiritual pressure out. I let my conscious expand as I tried to get a grip for what was around us.

I made sure it was too weak for Rose to sense but a soul reaper probably could. With my Reiatsu expanding I felt everything. I sifted through weaker hollows that were too timid to attack and sensed 5 large ones in a group west of us, moving north in a pack. They were definitely large enough to warrant a seated officer to expose of them. But unless they changed paths we wouldn't com across them.

Three hollows were also to our south, heading west. They were still stronger but their paths once again wouldn't be crossing.

More disturbing though were five spiritual pressures to the East heading south. They were all shinigami but they were weak. Two felt like students or unseated officers, and Three were below 10th seat in power.

We were boxed in. It would be hard to not run into either Hollow or shinigami and I didn't know which one would be worse. If we moved South quickly we should just miss them. But we would have to go fast.

"Rose-Kun." I looked up at him again through thick eyelashes. It didn't have the same effect as it would when I was older but it got his attention. "I'm scared. Can we move a little faster?"

Rose didn't seem to have any qualms with that. Still linked by the hand to not lose eachother in the dark we moved quicker. I wanted to take the lead- I was more adjusted to the dark and less likely to have an accident- but Rose was the older one in this situation. To avoid suspicion I followed.

It would be one of the biggest mistakes so far.

* * *

Another hour passed and we were moving too slow. Rose was fighting to get through the bushes and clear a path with his bare hands. When I suggested he use his Gottan he looked appalled.

I should have seen it coming. Without the light of day Rose tripped and rolled forward, foot stuck in a root. My spiritual pressure flared for just a second in fear as I reached out from him only to grasp the night air. A sharp hiss of pain erupted from his mouth as he lay there on the ground a few feet away. I rushed to his side.

To my relief he rose with his Gottan safely in his hands. He rose as elegantly as he could and it made me smile a little inside. So he had his habit of 'style' even back then. Or now, I supposed.

"My Gottan is okay!" But as he stood his leg collapsed under him. _HE_ definitely wasn't okay.

I supported his weight by draping his arm over my shoulders. "It's okay I'm stronger than I look."

He grunted, limping on one leg. "There's no style in this."

I rolled my eyes. When I stopped moving to sense those around me I quickly squashed my spiritual pressure. The slight outburst had drawn the attention of the hollows to the north. Worse yet the soul reapers to the east and the Hollows to the west had changed directions and were heading towards eachother. Towards us. We were about to be closed in and stuck in a dangerous battle if we didn't keep going.

I had to kill my spiritual pressure completely, It narrowed my field of vision to a half KM. I didn't like moving blind but if they sensed us we were in trouble.

5 High ranking hollows to one side. Shinigami to my other. 3 hollows of mediocre power ahead of us. Shit.

We continued on slowly. So slowly it would take another day to get through the damn forest. He hissed with each step. I stopped us. "Let me see it," I got down on my knees. Rose plopped down on his butt.

"Careful it hurts" He warned as he stuck out his bare foot. His foot was dirty but I could feel the swelling. It wasn't good. If left unattended it could cause permanent damage.

I reached up to one of my sleeves and gave a firm tug until it came loose. "If we don't wrap it, it won't heal in time," I warned.

As I wrapped it with the fabric I slowly leaked spiritual pressure into the wound. Just enough to kickstart his own spiritual pressure to travel to the wound. The more spiritual pressure he was able to move down to it the quicker it would heal.

He was in too much pain to notice.

We continued our Grueling journey and my eyes were constantly moving trying to see through the dark for hollows. If only I could just flashstep us out of here! I sighed dismay.

"Sorry," Rose mumbled. He picked up on my frustration.

"Why are you sorry?"

"Well I mean we might not make it to the Seireitei in time now. I'd understand if you wanted to leave me."

I flicked his forehead sharply.

"What as that for? I'm already wounded," He rubbed his forehead.

"For being stupid," I glared. "You and I are going to be soul reapers right?"

I felt him nod.

"Well then you know the job of a soul reaper is to protect right? We protect humans and our friends with our lives. No matter what that's the first job of a soul reaper. When you put on that Shihakushō your life is no longer your own."

That was what Hitsugaya-taichou told me. I'd never appreciated the words until the final war though. And while rose just nodded- much like I did back in the day- I could tell he was thinking it over. I also knew he would't understand it until he was faced with life and death situations.

A shockwave hit. Rose- already about to collapse- went down to his knees. I was forced down in order to keep supporting him. He'd collapsed from a force of spiritual pressure. It wasn't that strong but it was more than he could normally handle.

Finally Dawn was coming. The light did little to illuminate the dense forest but I could see general outlines and colors.

Up ahead the three weaker hollows- large and intimidating- were approaching. At first we thought they were coming for us but then they veered towards a group of three soul reapers.

A boy and a girl in the blue and red Shihakushō uniform for the Shinigami Academy. An older man in a black soul reaper uniform standing in front of them trying to shield them from the hollows. The boy student had a larger spiritual pressure. Where were the last two though? The stronger ones?

The hollow in the lead swiped the Shinigami to the side like paper. He went flying into a tree. The dense forest was hard to fight in and the weren't following any of the proper tactics. I sat there with a barely conscious Rose trying to come up with a plan but it didn't work.

The male Academy student noticed us. "There are souls here! Mia! Take them and run," He motioned to the girl.

"I can't Kensei! I can't leave you. Migu-Sensei is hurt! And Shihoin-Dono and Hirako-kun ran after that other spiritual pressure," The girl argued.

I swallowed. No way. Kensei? The young silver haired boy- and Shihoin and Hirako? It couldn't be Shinji and Yurouchi!

I wanted to help so badly but then my cover would be blown. I'd be dragged to soul society and interrogated and I'd loose my edge in this timeline. Besides they survived in the last timeline right? They would this time too.

"Don't argue with me Mia! That was an order. Sensei's..." useless flashed in both our minds. "And Shinji and Yuroichi made their choice when they decided to go after that soul up north despite orders. Our top priority is the protection of souls so get these two out of here! Or I'll make sure they never let you graduate!"

The girl didn't argue and ran towards us. "I- I'm going to get you out of here."

I nodded. "He's hurt," I motioned to Rose. "Please take him and go."

She hesitated. Unsure of how I could stand all the spiritual pressure. "But what-"

"I'll be right behind," I promised.

"I won't... leave.. Ran-chan," Rose mumbled, shoving off the other soul reaper.

I frowned, trying to lessen his grip around my shoulders. "Look she's stronger than me Rose-kun. You have to go."

But he shook his head and I let out a growl of frustration. Then a Hollow broke free from Kensei- who was doing better than his Sensei had been- and made a B line towards us.

"Run!" Kensei hollered over his shoulder.

The girl let out a small shriek but before she could move towards the hollow and her impending death I grabbed her by the Shihakushō and yanked her back, shoving Rose off me and propelling myself forward with the momentum.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I didn't have a sword or anything to block with. Without much of a choice I rolled forward dodging a talon. The hollow roared in rage as I got back on my feet and slowly lured it away back towards Kensei. The hollows movements were so slow I could easily defeat him without any tools. I had to make it look like an accident though or risk discovery. "I never told you this Rose but I'm really good at running away and escaping death. So just let her take you and run!"

Before he could protest I sent him a grin. "Remember what I said? You've got to become a soul reaper Rose! So get out of here and live goddammit!"

It was all my fault, I thought as I backed up slowly. Because of me Rose, Yuroichi, Kensei and Shinji might die. I came back to save them but by changing the future I might be killing them even earlier.

The hollow lifted it's sharp claw again. I raised my hands to block, planning to parry it and then use a low level Kido under cover of dust when it struck the ground. But a blow didn't come.

"W-what kind of soul reaper would I be if I couldn't even protect my first friend," Rose grunted. It seemed he'd finally adjusted to the spiritual pressure.

Even with all the dust and the dim light, I could see him in front of me. Through his shoulder was the talon. He held onto it tightly, keeping it there with bloody hands.

"Ah this hurts like hell. It was a stylish entrance though... now _you_ can run. I'll hold him."

My eyes glazed over. I wasn't there. I was in the future again. I was watching him slide down a Scythe made of shadows. I was watching his blood drip down onto Hisagi's shadowed face like tears. I watched despair flowing from his wounds as that was what Hisagi's bankai was an embodiment of. And I could hear him thanking Hisagi. And apologizing.

"Hado number 4: Byakurai," I whispered. My finger pointed past him. A small white light shot from my finger towards the hollow mask. It shattered and crumpled to the floor before dissipating. Even if I was discovered I wouldn't let Rose die again.

Rose fell forward into my arms eyes trying to stay open. A look of admiration and pain deformed his face. I held him tightly, Covering his wound with my hand. The spiritual pressure of the other hollows disappeared. Kensei did good work on the two that surpassed him spiritual-pressure wise.

As I held onto Rose and felt his blood seeping through my fingers the first sob came. It wasn't the nice sort of crying. It was heavy and ugly. Tears ran into his shoulder as I held him so tight that I covered the exit wound to keep him from bleeding out.

It wasn't even the fear of his death that killed me. I'd already lived through that. It was how this time it would be my fault. I'd already failed. The unfairness of it being Rose who I first met was sharp and painful.

"'M okay, Ran-chan," Rose whispered into my ear.

That made me cry harder.

The Sensei had recovered enough to crawl towards us, face ashamed. "Let me heal him."

They had to pry him from me. Once he was laid down I didn't let go of his hand. Of the reassurance he was alive. Hisagi hadn't pierced him with that Bankai of Horror. The Hollow hadn't killed him. I rubbed my eyes repeatedly to calm down.

"Kensei-kun where are you going?"

"To back up Yuroichi and Shinji," He said. "The hollows in that direction are stronger than these three. Move these two souls and Sensei out of the forest. We'll meet at checkpoint 30W."

Kensei ran off. With him focused on the others I once again unraveled my spiritual pressure to find the others and keep track of their well being. We sat their huddled over Rose while Sensei worked.

"How long have you known him for?" The Mia girl asked.

"Rose?"

She nodded.

I thought on it. "A week or so."

The girl coughed sharply. Then the 'sensei' spoke up."Your reaction when he got hurt wasn't the reaction of someone who'd only known him for a few days. I've watched enough good Shinigami die to know that."

I opened my mouth to respond. Just as I did so, a sharp pang of fear flew through me as I felt a couple spiritual pressures decrease sharply. The three were in danger. The other two felt it as well.

"I have to go," I stood up abruptly

Rose cracked his eyes open, regaining conscious.

I met eyes with him, smiled and said "It would be nice if you three didn't mention any of this to anyone."

"I'll wait for you," Rose promised. Probably wanting to add a stylish touch to my exit.

I turned towards the others and disappeared in a flash step. Less than a minute later I was arriving. The scene was Grim.

Kensei was against a tree, head lolled to the side and unconscious. Yuroichi was down on one knee with her Zanpakuto a few feet away. She was panting and staring up at a massive hollow with a determined gaze.

And Shinji was standing with his Zanpakuto in front of him. Impressively his Zanpakuto had his soul already imprinted on it, unlike the other two. In front of him stood two hollows just as massive as Yuroichi's. The other two had been taken down.

This was my fault and I would take responsibility for it. The other two noticed me but I tuned out their expected cries of protest as I approached Yuroichi. I bent down and picked up her fallen Zanpakuto with my left hand. It glowed lightly, lengthening slightly as I imprinted. A dark red handle and a cat-shaped Tsuba.

Haineko purred inside my mind. ' _It's nice to be back.'_

I nodded, approaching the first hollow. It lunged and waited until the last second to raise my Zanpakuto with a smooth action. The Hollow ran straight into it. To it's shock it disintegrated at the touch as the blade pierced deep into it's ugly mask.

"What the hell?" Shinji cried out, so distracted by my fight that he lost sight of one of his own hollows, which was now sneaking up behind him.

But before it could strike I was there, defensively holding my blade up in my left hand. One strike and the hollow was gone. Shinji finally shook out of it and care of his hollow after seeing that.

I flicked my blade out of habit and went to sheath it blade at my side. But I didn't have a scabbard. Embarrassingly I walked to where it was left on the ground and sheathed the blade, attaching it to my waist.

"What are you?" Yuroichi asked. She looked eerily similar to how she did in the future. How painful.

Shinji was easier to look at. He had long shoulder length blond hair and no bangs. He was so much younger looking I could almost pretend I wasn't looking at the man. The flirtatious older blond who swore I was his first love (as well as every other girl he met) and had a scary habit of turning serious at times.

But now wasn't the time to get nostalgic. They were suspicious of me.

"The way you flicked your blade... hollows don't bleed."

I stayed quiet. What was I supposed to say? 'sorry I spent the last 500 years slaying ability-enhanced humans and zombified soul reapers which have tons of blood?'

"More importantly you imprinted on that Zanpakuto," Yuroichi spoke again. "You can only do that on one sword but you knew how as soon as you touched it!"

Shinji nodded repetitively. "Your just a child how could you take those down-"

"Prodigy?" Yuroichi cut in.

I looked down, feeling a little stung. "I'm sorry. Please just don't mention this to anyone. I mean I did save your life right?"

I knew it was unlikely that they would stay quiet. But I turned and flash stepped away. Ten minutes later I was out of the forest.

* * *

Left behind, Shinji turned to Yuroichi- who was taking care of the unconscious Kensei- and said "I think I've found my first love."

"Idiot! She's a child. And I thought you said I was your first love?"

* * *

I sat on the edge of the forest and district 59. On a small hill overlooking a small stream. The sun was rising from the east and the rays warmed that side of my face. I could still sense them. I had decided to wait until I was able to confirm that they were all grouped back up and heading for soul society. It was harder than I thought to see them again. I figured I'd be happy.

But I was uncomfortable. And I couldn't seem to breathe right. All I could do as feel remorse for what happened before. Kensei had met the same end as Rose. Yuroichi died protecting Urahara. And Shinji...

I couldn't even think of it.

If it was that hard to see them what would I do when I had to see my captain or Kira-kun or Hisagi-kun or Nanao or G-... so many of them. Maybe Joining soul society wasn't the best idea. It wasn't like they'd believe me and to start over from the beginning would be slow and painful. And I was afraid to be close to them and risk changing more fates.

It was decided, I would find a way to prevent things from outside the Seireitei. For now I was alive. They were alive. And the sun was so nice and warm.

* * *

 **AN** :

I think Ran-chan isn't smart enough to come up with a plan all by herself. QQ

I'll be updating at least every Saturday, with a bonus chapter every so often.

Tell me what you thought! m(v.v)m


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Copper Tang**

Several hours later the second set of Shinigami emerged from the forest and met with the three at the meeting place. I didn't mind waiting. I'd been meditating with Haineko; It was nice to have her full presence again. But I couldn't fight the nagging thought that there was something different about her.

They were loitering for a long time. Nearly half an hour. But then I felt them move and I stood up to leave myself. What stopped me was that there was still a presence at the meeting place. It was smaller so I hadn't noticed it at first.

I only recognized it because I'd been so close to it. Rose. Frustration marred my face as I realized he'd stayed behind- still recovering from his wounds.

When several minutes passed and I still feel him move I tried to continue on my way. He'd be fine. I needed to start devising a plan.

'I'll wait for you'

"Argh," I turned around as Rose's words echoed in my mind.

I was at the post in seconds, standing in front of him with my hands on my hips. Rose grinned up at me as if he wasn't hurt. Or an idiot. Sure the Sensei had healed his wounds but he still needed time to recover.

"What are you thinking," I stressed to him. "Why didn't you go with the soul reapers?"

He flipped his head to the side, nose up. "I told you I'd wait for you Ran-chan."

I groaned again. "Rose! You may have lost your chance to take the exams. I get it. You waited, thankyou, but you need to go and catch up with them."

"I don't want to. Besides if that's all the power a soul reaper has, I'm pretty sure you were stronger than them. You got that Hollow with one finger! It makes more sense to follow you."

My hands tangled in my hair. "Damnit Rose I can't stay with you I'm not going to Soul Society."

He went quiet for a second, When he spoke his voice was softer. "Then where are you going?"

My heart throbbed a little. He reminded me of myself. "I can't tell you."

"Please don't leave me behind. Not without at least telling me where you're going," He looked down.

I was looking at myself, pleading Gin to not go off on his own. It was something I couldn't bear. "Oh Rose-kun..."

He stood and walked up to me, looking down at my face. "I won't pry I promise. Let me come with you just this year until the next exam. Please?"

Something about the way I was looking at him must have tipped him off: a second later he asked. "What are you afraid of?"

For the first time I was completely honest with him. "I'm afraid I'll change your fate for the worst."

He chuckled lightly, reaching out his hand. "If you don't want to change anyone's fate why are you here?"

He had a better point than I could imagine. I was here to challenge fate. If I changed things people might die. But if I didn't change things then everyone would definitely die excruciating deaths.

I took his hand in mine and said the words I always wished Gin would say. "Come with me."

* * *

Rose didn't ask where we were going until a week or two later. He trailed behind me complaining about sore feet. Then a floodgate opened. "You're younger than me! And a girl! How can we walk so much? Where are we going? Is it much further? We're already in district 66!"

"Stop complaining. We're getting out of here first off, heading deeper into the north districts."

"Why? Those are some pretty unruly districts."

"There's someone I want to find. And even if you said those Shinigami wouldn't mention me I don't want to bet on it so it's best to get out of here."

Rose swallowed. "How far in are we going?"

I hesitated, unsure of how he would react. "District 79."

He didn't react other than a slight paling. "It would be rather unstylish of me to Die in a barbaric place like that.

Scoffing I continued walking. "We need to stock up on food soon. It's harder to find stuff in the outermost districts."

Silence, then: "You know Ran-chan you kinda sound like an old woman."

I grew a tick mark rivaling one my captain would have worn, but ignored him.

Ah, my captain. Even after his passing and after I took over the division I still referred to him as Captain. Because to me that's the most I can do to respect what he did for all of us. My captain was the greatest man I'd ever known.

Our troubles didn't start until we reached district 76. Out here the districts were larger and more vast. District 76 was the size of districts 60-64. And it went up almost exponentially from there. That was the reason it was so unruly, it was impossible to control. And district 80 went on forever. There was no end to this world- not that anyone had found and returned to tell at least. In district 80 if you walked the wrong way for too long you could never return.

It was enough to drive a man mad.

Rose and I kept a low profile as we skirted around any populations. We took our time for about a month. Rose stayed true and didn't ask any questions. Not when I disappeared in a flash step or when I slew a Hollow with ease. Not when I healed scratches and burns and poisons gotten on the trip. And he became adjusted to how much I needed to eat.

We had a small backpack full of cloth, rice, dried fruits and roots and veggies, and a few small pieces of dried fish. I could catch or hunt something down so we didn't worry about our protein.

Our trouble came when we were forced into the market when Rose's Yukata finally had it from all the stress. It was already in tatters from the hollow attack but the bushes and the wear had taken a toll. Even with Rose in it, the elegance was fading.

We were almost to the market.

"Are you sure about _this_ ," Rose asked.

I gave him a determined nod. "Yes. You need a new Yukata. Unless you want to walk around naked. Ohoho I didn't think you were such an exhibitionist Rose-kun," I covered my mouth with my right hand and gave him a scandalous look that he probably didn't understand.

"Ran-chan... you're getting deer blood on your mouth," Rose deadpaned.

I gagged. He was right. See in order to get him a yukata my idea was to get a deer and trade it in for one. While killing an animal wasn't my favorite thing at least I'd know it was going to a good cause. It would feed those with spiritual pressure for months. I was dragging the very heavy deer by it's two hind feet.

I was still wiping my mouth with Rose mumbling a comment on how I had no god-given style, when a man approached us. He was large- but mostly fat. He was meant to be intimidating and Rose quickly shut up under his appearance.

"That's an awfully big deer ya got there deary," He grinned. Then he eyed Rose. "What's the instrument on your back?"

I didn't like the way he was assessing our worth like we were a prize to be claimed.

So I continued going to ignore him, nudging rose forward too.

But he had other plans. "It's rude to just turn away!"

I dodged the incoming hand reaching for my shoulder, dropping the deer and pivoting around. "I don't want to fight."

"Great! Then you'll come quietly. You and that pretty boy will fetch a good rental price. And I'm sure that music maker of his will sell high too."

God that was sick. "Men like you are so unattractive," I whined.

When he lunged again I knew I had one chance to make a impression to not be messed with in this district. I parried his fist, grabbing his forearm and flipping him over onto his back with ease for someone my size. In a second my sword was drawn from beneath my yukata and at his neck. He seemed unsure of where I had been hiding the thing.

"Leave us alone or I'll execute you myself," I stared down at him. He wasn't a soul to me. He was an enemy trying to get to my precious friends. Trying to hurt Rose.

He gritted his teeth, pride disallowing him to concede to a little girl. But as I climbed off of him he tucked his tail and retreated away to lick his wounds. The others in the street looked away quickly. They clearly didn't want trouble. Good I could trade in peace. Peace that wouldn't last once they got to 79.

The deer was received well. While they did't get that good of a price it was enough for two cloaks and one boys Yukata. Well worn but still functioning.

"You really are so stylish sometimes," Rose twirled in his cloak. "I love how smoothly you defeated that brute. I want you to teach me to do that!"

I glanced back uneasy. He did need to learn. But without a nameless zanpakuto it would be more limited. But I just nodded.

He was taken aback that I agreed so easily. "What? You think I want to keep on protecting you? Weak men aren't attractive. The 79th district isn't a place you could survive like this.

"You make it sound like we'll be staying there."

"Truth be told Rose-kun," I scratched the back of my head nervously. "I might-"

"We might," He corrected sharply.

"-The person I'm looking for might not show up for another century. I'm not sure."

"What?! Who are you waiting a century for? Do you have a true love? I had no idea you had such a lovely goal."

I laughed as the thought of who I was looking for being my love 'no offense'. I shook my head. "No! Just an important ally. Someone I think I can get to help us."

Rose stopped walking through the barren land. The sun was hot on our slightly sunburned faces as he stared me down. "Why do we need Ally's?"

"I thought you promised to not ask questions."

Rose grunted in a defeated way and changed the subject. "How much longer do you think it will be?

"Uh...well probably only one more month. I figured we could train a little on the way. What I really want is to teach you how to use your spiritual energy."

"If I did could I learn how to do the finger thing?"

I sighed. "Yes. That was kido. It was Hado number 4."

"How can I learn it?"

"The first step is to feel your own spiritual pressure. You already can sense others okay but I want you to learn how to sense more comfortably. So I want you to keep your eyes closed while we travel.

Rose nodded, closing his eyes and walking behind me. Since our travel had begun just months ago Rose had come to respect what he'd seen of my power. We'd become close. Not quite as close as we were in the last timeline but I was hoping that would come soon.

Three days later Rose had improved greatly. And as he learned his Reiatsu was growing from the exercise and from mingling with mine. The progress was astounding and it was no wonder he was going to be a captain.

"Ran-chan," He called me to a stop. I turned to face him and he opened his eyes to give me a studious look. "I can finally feel it comfortably. Your Reiatsu. I've memorized it but it feels awfully... tired. Are you okay?"

I was quiet, mulling over words. Truthfully being in the inner realm wasn't the same as sleep. A strong person could last with just their inner realm and no real sleep for about 4 months. After that they started to deteriorate. I was pushing it. My spiritual pressure fluctuating ever slightly. For Rose to have sensed it...

"You've improved quicker than I thought you would."

"That doesn't answer my question. Why are you so tired? You sleep more than me."

"Don't ask so many questions."

* * *

It wasn't long before what he said came to fruit. Just as we were about to enter District 79 I felt my exhaustion reeling through me. We sat in the forest against a tree, cloak draped over my front. Rose sat similarly next to me and I rested my head on his shoulders.

The stupid Ash-cat wouldn't let me into her realm because of my exhaustion, and I hadn't slept in so long I was a bit afraid of what might happen when I let my mind loose on itself.

"Not sleeping will ruin your beauty," Rose said nonchalantly. "I can feel how tired you are."

I almost cursed at how good he was with his sensing now. I didn't have to worry about him getting lost ever again. But it was annoying now. Especially how he made me feel like the younger one.

I closed my eyes and relaxed. With a flicker of fear It felt like I was being submerged in water as I tried to fight sleep off. But the darkness overcame me and dragged me down by my ankles.

* * *

 _I felt that dread still as I spun around a familiar battle scene. In the outer recesses of the Eastern districts I stood with Ichigo. Behind them Orihime knelt reviving a thoroughly beaten Rukia. Blood marred Orhime's white long-unwashed clothes. Tears stained her face._

 _Orihime was older now, 27. Her childhood had been robbed of her by our incompetence. She'd never gotten the life she deserved. Sweet, beautiful, pure Orihime. The horrors of the war didn't bode well and she'd become something of a porcelain doll._

 _I knew this scene and I wanted to cry and shout for her to get away. This war was not hers. She should have been living her life as a young woman. She should be stealing hearts and confessing love. Orihime should be cooking those lovely dishes like Red bean udon. Instead she was staring lifelessly at Rukia._

 _Orihime was their most prized tool. She was forced to bring so many of her friends back. Which also meant she'd watched them die a hundred times in a hundred different ways. We half expected her to call it quits- to return to the human realm. she never even entertained the thought._

 _In front of us a Sternritter stood. The profile of the figure made me pale. As Nodt. One of the more miserable ones. My blood turned cold as I remembered what his ability did. And what was going to happen next._

 _As had already activated his Vollstandig whilst he glided forward. Ichigo was stricken immobile by the fear. Humans were much more susceptible to it. We tensed for the blow I already knew wouldn't come as spikes manifested behind As to penetrate us with their fear inducing ability. None of them looked at As Nodt- it was rumored his power of fear inducement could kick in tenfold just from being seen. That also made it almost impossible to dodge._

 _I chose not to look up now. I felt Orihime run past me. I heard Ichigo cry out a heartbreaking 'NO!'. He sounded like a little boy that had lost something precious. But Orihime was already in front of As with her shield out._

 _"How can you resist my fear?" As questioned in rage. The others behind her were frozen. At the time I had been frozen too. Head up to watch the whole ordeal. At least this time I could look away._

 _Orihime had a soft yet determined look on her face. It was sad. Her once luminous skin was so dull and dry now. She just looked damn tired._

 _"I am afraid." Gentle lips formed the phrase. Something in that made Ichigo flinch. "I'm so afraid."_

 _Delicate tears formed in her eyes. "I- I'm s-s-so afraid of dying. I don't want to. I want to live until I'm old. And then I want to be reborn and I want to live five more lives."_

 _Her eyes flickered back to Ichigo as if remembering something from the past. She dropped her shield and turned around to face Ichigo. She then reactivated her shield in front of her. The rest of her hairpins materialized and hovered around her. As screached in annoyance in the background. He reared back to strike._

 _Letting the tears fall Orihime gave one last brilliant smile. "But I'm also not afraid. I'm not afraid to die for the person I love. I just wish I'd gotten to love you for a few more lifetimes..."_

 _I watched as tears fell on Ichigo's face from where Orihime was hovering to protect them._

 _"You can't kill me! I won't die! You'll know fear girl! Not me! I won't die!" As hysterically went off. He drove his spikes of black and swirling fear into her back._

 _Her healing powers encompassed her and the quincy as he lunched at her. He'd taken her out first, but she'd managed to reject his existence in a blinding yellow light. It was brilliant and it spread like a shokwave. The world around them seemed lighter, glowing. Little orbs of light fell slowly all around them like snow._ _It was the closest thing to heaven I'd ever seen._

 _The spell was broken and the terror left our bodes. Orihime's unrecognizable form fell to the ground. Her hairpins fell in pieces around her holding no presence at all._

 _It was the most painful thing to watch Ichigo cradle what was left of her against him. Just pieces. Grotesque and morbid. Ichigo tried to find someone to blame and he yelled and yelled. Not even Rukia could make him let go of Orihime._

 _And I just stood there with my hands over my mouth. Now those two would never have another lifetime. Orihime wouldn't be reborn thanks to that damn quincy. Those two should have been perfect for eachother but Soul Society took that fate from them before they could even begin to explore it._

 _Now the king knelt caressing a bloody half-torso and organs with matted orange hair._

* * *

I woke with a start, Rose was shaking me up. Instant nausea came across me as the image of Ichigo covered in pieces of Orihime came to my mind. I pushed him off quickly to stumble just far enough away to hurl into the bushes. Rose was by my side quickly holding my hair back. He patted my back until I was done and then handed me a bamboo cup of water.

I gargled and returned to the campfire. I couldn't sleep now.

"I woke you because you were crying."

"Did I say anything?" I asked Rose with tense shoulders.

He shook his head. "No. You just were crying and tossing a bit. Not very glamorous."

I flicked him a look before returning my gaze to the fire. "We all have bad dreams."

"I've never had a dream that made me throw up."

I hated the way he said things so mater-o-factly. It was annoying.

"I always had a weak stomach. And I had a dream I was kissing that ugly buffoon that attacked us before."

Rose let out a laugh. "Gross. I can't believe you would put him through that torture."

With a red face I reached to playfully sock him in the shoulder. To my surprise he caught my fist with ease. Even if I hadn't really been trying to hit him it was impressive.

"You couldn't do that before," I grinned up at him.

"I've gotten better intuition since I can sense others better now."

Good he was making more progress. I needed to make sure he was as strong, if not stronger, that in the original timeframe. Taking hi out of the academy was annoying.

"Well I'm not getting any more sleep. Should we head out," I moved to pack up what little we had. Rose agreed and gripped his Gottan comfortably, strumming as we walked.

It made the rest of the journey more bearable. With an expression of peace I continued on. I knew that district 79 would be our home for a while now. But eventually rumors of a strong man should reach them.

Kenpachi Zaraki wasn't the type to go unnoticed after all.

* * *

 **65 years later.**

* * *

We wandered aimlessly at first, following every little rumor. The district was brutal and cold. I'd been afraid that Rose might lose himself in it but he was able to maintain his composure. No matter how much time passed he never considered himself as one of them.

And while we met new people none of them stayed. It was too risky to let others in. Rose was the only person I could trust right now. Betrayal couldn't be afforded.

Rose and I grew closer and closer. It was a different kind of closeness then we had in my time line. This was a more virtuous bond. He looked a me like I was sure I'd looked at Gin. It was a responsibility that burdened me.

I'd let Rose in a little. Rose seemed to believe I was partially clairvoyant and I was okay with that. He complained that he didn't like those magic-style abilities and he didn't care to know any more about it.

And I had laughed because his own abilities would end up being 'magic-like'. As it was he only learned Kido so far. And his proficiency in the last 65 years was astonishing.

I busted through the curtain to the little shed that we had 'claimed'. Rose was tuning his Gottan. He looked up disinterested. "You really need to work on your entrances."

His hair was getting a little longer and curlier and he probably looked about 16. I'd aged as well. My childhood was passing just as quickly as the first time around. I was already about 12 or 13 in age.

Rose was a good looking young man and I'd grown more into my beauty. I kept my hair at shoulder length much like when I was younger before. Neither of us had to fight off any attempts for carnal actions though thanks to our power. And now Rose didn't have to rely on me either. He could use up to level 40 Kido without an incantation and up to 60 with. Soon his mastery would be at what I could teach him in Kido and I would need to teach him swordplay and other aspects. Currently we were working on flashstep. In district 79 nobody questioned those who seemed too strong.

When his bored eyes met my fired up gaze he became a little more interested.

"I think I found him Rose-kun. Just 5KM to the north. Grab the stuff."

This meant we might not be coming back.

Rose obeyed quickly with practiced motions. He shoved our their few possessions into a bag and handed it to me to carry. With his Gottan against his back we ran north. On the way I advised him.

"Once we meet this guy he's going to seem really strong. But no matter how much you think I might loose you can't interfere. To this guy a battle is between two people and Kido is frowned upon. Trust me I'll live."

"I hate it when you only give me half of the story."

The next second Rose had stopped running and was struggling not to sweat. A powerful wave of spiritual pressure was washing over them. Rose had never felt anything as strong. "Rangiku just what is that."

I smiled nervously. "That's our Ally."

Rose swallowed. He followed after me dutifully but I could tell he was uncomfortable with the pressure. The closer we got the stronger a metallic smell became. With horror I knew what await us. And Rose might not be able to understand why Kenpachi did what he did.

I was too distracted with steeling my own resolve. Seeing Kenpachi and Yachiru again would be very hard. Their departure wasn't that great.

When we were close enough that we could see him, covered in a cloak entirely too small and hunched over by a tree, Rose was dragging his feet with no desire to get closer to the dead bodies or the man. Kenpachi rested his sword against his shoulder. He was so large and intimidating even back then. I could see how Rose would be afraid. A couple bodies lay a little ways away. We didn't have to ask what had happened.

What probably threw Rose off and worried him the most was a little pink haired child, barely 2 years old in appearance, laying asleep in the large mans lap.

I swallowed hard. Oh wow. This was incredibly hard. I had been so close to the little lieutenant and the large captain. What a great drinking pall. And even if she was overbearing the 'chairwoman' was always incredibly fun.

The last time I saw Kenpachi he was in two pieces, split in half vertically and spread apart to make sure he was dead. Yachiru knelt over half of him, shaking him and repeating a soft but firm mantra of " _Kenny_."

I'd never be able to forget the look in her fearful eyes. The unearthly pink girl was crying for the first time that she could recall. And with all the insecurity and unsurenes and fear of a child loosing her best friend she told me

 _"Ranny... I think Kenny isn't going to wake up."_

And after that she had disappeared. We never heard or saw her again. If she died, or just ceased to exist, or decided to go out on her own since it was meaningless to stay without her Kenny. We would never know. Some even surmised that she was nothing but an extension of Kenpachi's power.

But dammit Kenpachi was a monster. He'd taken out a quarter of the Sternritter's all by himself. Taken them out to the point they stayed dead. His power was so massive that he was the only one I'd say was too dangerous to survive the war. And his life would have lose meaning had he survived.

Being the strongest would take away his reason to live.

I motioned Rose to stay back and approached the man. He looked up, cloak falling like a curtain as he did.

His face was so familiar and still had the scar over his eye. I wanted to grab his face in my hands to reassure he was here. Kenpachi was looking at me with disinterested eyes. So different from the playful glower he held when we used to speak. Kenpachi never wanted to fight me I was only good for drinking. And he didn't invite me to drink with impure intentions. For a man that lived by instinct he usually forwent the pleasures of women. It just didn't appeal to him if he could chose fighting over it.

"What do you want," He growled lowly. "Get out of here. I won't go easy on a child."

I took a sharp breath. "I'm gathering strong people. Come with me."

Of course it wouldn't be that easy. Kenpachi grabbed Yachiru and roughly lifted her by her clothes, setting her ungracefully on the ground. But the child didn't even wake up from being handled so roughly. No wonder Yachiru grew into such a strange child.

He was twice my height and I barely reached his stomach.

"Saying you're recruiting strong people... does that mean you're strong?" He was grinning wide, spiritual pressure licking about happily.

This was pretty scary. Kenpachi was always strong. But I was sure if I fought and beat him he'd stay with me just for the chance to fight again. And luckily Kenpachi was never one to discriminate between child, adult, man or woman.

"Ran-chan," Rose called with worry from the side.

I grinned back at him and drew Haineko. Kenpachi raised his long sword and slung it over his shoulder. "You can have the first strike. It'll be more fun if I'm handicapped."

I rolled my eyes at the came. "Cut the crap. Cocky men are so dull! Come at me!"

He roared with laughter. "C'mon. It's no fun if you can't even cut me. Show me you can and I'll give you a fight to the death."

"F-fight to the death," Rose stuttered from the side. "Ran-chan!"

"Listen here boy," Zaraki called to Rose. "Quit your sniveling. When you pick up a sword your only goal should be to use it. A fight is a mans bond. It's his pride. It's insulting to fight in any way but to the death. That's when you'll truly feel yourself alive. So come on little girl. Show me what you have!"

Knowing he'd have it no other way I shunpoed behind him, sword against his neck. It was just enough to draw a small dribble of blood. I forgot how thick his spiritual pressure was. He let out a burst of it. It was enough to move me slightly away from him. He grabbed my Zanpakuto- the blade not even cutting him- and tugged be backwards. I fell onto my butt. As I fell he raised his sword to strike.

I rolled to the left then to the right then backwards and I jumped up. Taking one of his hits while sitting down would crush my bones. He was so damn fast. Despite never learning Shunpo he could keep up with Ichigo back in the day.

But just dodging was no good. I couldn't let him get bored. I had to fight him head on. It gave Kenpachi the advantage though. While my spiritual pressure any skills were stronger than his (for the moment) my body was in fact weaker. I couldn't make my bones as strong as him. It was said only KEnpachi's body could handle his power.

If I had waited another 345 years to see him this would have been much harder. As it was, I would have outrun Ichigo to avoid fighting this man in my timeline. I never once crossed blades with him.

I slowly adjusted to his strikes and what I needed to block him and keep my bones intact. What astounded me- and I didn't notice this before- was every time I slipped up he'd take advantage of it. Kenpachi didn't let any openings go to waste I don't think he noticed he was doing it. His swordplay was sloppy but the raw power was overwhelming. And there was more.

He had instinct. The kind Kurosaki had. Skills were learned but natural instinct was rare to come across. Gin, Ichigo, Kurosaki, Yachiru and Kensei all had those instincts and it saved them time and time again.

I picked Kenpachi for a very basic reason. He was so primal he was the ally with the least loyalty to the Seireitei. He was really only there to find more people to fight. One drunken night he'd admitted his disappointment at becoming captain. He'd thought that tons of people would come to challenge him for the captains position just as he had the previous captain, but to his dismay nobody had challenged him. His childlike idealism on that made me laugh at the time.

Our fight stretched on and it took hours to tire the giant out even a little. But the joy on his face was real and it was growing too fast. If he pushed himself any further and let out any more of his power I could actually be in danger. To prevent that I had to end this soon.

I ended up ending it with a meaningful hit to the shoulder. Kenpachi had grunted, standing still. But that wound was the straw that broke the camels back. Kenpachi fell forward onto his knee, cursing in disbelief.

"Tell me... what's your name girl?"

"Rangiku Matsumoto,"

"Kenpachi. Kenpachi from Zaraki," he introduced in return.

When he collapsed forward Rose was rushing to my side. Once assured I was fine and marveling that I beat him with just a sword, he turned to help Kenpachi. Kenpachi just brushed him off as a nuisance and fell onto his back.

Now Yachiru was up. And though she didn't cry she waddled towards Kenny and burled up again next to his side. She didn't see anything in the world besides him. The blood coating his front didn't bother her in the least.

I knelt down and let my hands glow. I wouldn't heal much while he was unconcious- he'd be pissed- but I'd get him out of the danger zone and make sure his wounds were closed.

* * *

Rose and I used all of our strength to move him just far enough away that we couldn't smell the bodies from the battle he'd had before. He was heavier than he looked.

Kenpachi woke on the next night. A fire was going next to him and Rose and Yachiru were huddled around it sharing salmon on a stick. Yachiru was nestled against Kenpachi still- chewing on her own fish dutifully.

"Hn."

"Kenny!" Yachiru cooed his name and climbed on top of him. She put her hands on his face and stared into his eyes.

"You smell like fish," He complained as he held her out at a distance by her clothes. He sat up, Yachiru dangling happily face down by the back of her Yukata. "The fuck is this tea party?"

Rose snorted. "Classy."

"We waited for you to get up," I offered.

"Why do you think I'm coming with ya," He asked. "I just want to fight you again."

"Then that makes it easy. You want to fight strong people. I'm going to run into plenty of them trust me."

Kenpachi just grunted. "Whatever. I'm going to bed."

"Didn't he just wake up," Rose frowned.

"Some people never change," I mumbled to the confusion of Rose. "Let's stock up on sleep too."

"I'll keep watch for you," Rose offered.

I decided to take the offer and settled onto my back, head in his lap. It always spooked me how similar he was to me, and I to Gin. But closing my eyes I drifted off quickly. The fight against Zaraki- the first real fight I had in 65 years- had left me exhausted.

To my relief I wasn't plagued with a nightmare of death. Instead I had a simple dream about Kenpachi and I drinking.

* * *

 _I sat in the familiar grass. The 11th division courtyard which was hardly green anymore. Destroyed buildings were all around us. In the background a young child rested her pink head on my captains shoulder. Hitstugaya and Yachiru. It was funny Yachiru looked as old as Hitsugaya-taichou had before and Hitsugaya-taichou looked like a grown man._

 _In another world he would have been such a little heartbreaker. My captain would have received constant gifts. He'd be annoyed but he'd eat all the sweets like it was his job. I may have even snatched him for myself. That was the life we would have had._

 _And Yachiru would be a terror. She was growing into such a beautiful little girl that in another few hundred years she would have stolen hearts. A beauty with the same bad habits as Kenpachi. A brilliant whirlwind of emotions fiercer than the storm. And though many would avoid her because of Kenpachi none of them knew that Kenpachi would never have acted that possessive over Yachiru. I knew though that Kenpachi would leave Yachiru to protect herself. She was his friend after all and very capable. He would never insult her by interfering with her battles._

 _Instead the two caught up on much needed sleep. I turned to Kenpachi and sipped slowly on a cup of precious Sake we found hidden under the rubble. "How long d'ya think this bor'n truce be lastin'?"_

 _I'd rolled my eyes and lightly flicked him. My cheeks were flushed from the alcohol. Kenpachi wasn't faring much better. "Year or so," I lamented at our ending peace._

 _He grunted something about it being boring._

 _"Kenpachi~," I whined, turning to him with slightly sad eyes. "I want this war to be over. It's taking away all my drinking partners. I won't have anyone to drink with after the war."_

 _Hisagi, Kira, Akon, Shiba, Renji... all of them were dead this late into the war. How it hurts to drink alone. Kenpachi was the last guy friend I had left. If he was gone I would have no one._

 _"Ya 'ave me" He hiccuped into his cup. "Don't go getting alllll sent'tal"_

 _I turned more to face him. He raised an eyebrow. His eyepatch was off and his tired and rugged face seemed serious. Kenpachi wasn't someone I considered good looking. Not like Rose or Hisagi or Ichigo. He was simply manly. But like Gin he had his own strange appeal._

 _"'ts..." I sighed loudly and opened my lips slightly, brows pulled together in frustration.. "I'm sick of loosing people..."_

 _And suddenly he seemed to be closer. His eyes weren't focusing on anything in particular, they were cloudy. The alcohol clouded my thoughts and my eyes were focusing on his jagged jawline._

 _"Kenpachi-"_

 _Then I smelt him. Coppery and Musky. Like bloody earth._

 _Then I tasted him. Salty and so very bitter. Like death itself._

* * *

Then I woke up. Rose was snoring softly. He'd fallen asleep as well but I couldn't blame him after withstanding Zaraki's spiritual energy. I lifted my head from his lap and sat up. For the next moment I observed his face. I could draw every difference between him and the man I'd known.

Changing direction I crawled around the fire and crouched next to Kenpachi. He was sleeping peacefully with Yachiru inside of his tattered yukata, using it like a blanket. I smiled back tears.

I raised my hand, pulling it back just before touching his face. I knew that face well. Terrifying and never gentle. The man was completely insane but I had come to adore him as a friend.

I tilted my head up with my lips pursed and eyes shut. "Oh how I miss you."

"Don't you dare give me no confessions," a low grumble came from below.

I started, looking back down into the open eyes of Kenpachi. So he wasn't asleep. I let out a choked laugh. "No you just... you remind me of a friend I knew."

"We should find him. He must be strong."

Another laugh. "He was. He was the strongest one that's for sure. You'd never meet another person that damn blessed with power."

"Well where is he?"

"Dead."

Kenpachi's stimulated spiritual pressure, eager for a fight, died down again. "He must not a' been that strong then."

"But what if that wasn't it?"

"There's nothing else. Just excused."

"But... what if they lost while they were at their strongest? What if we made every move correctly. There were no mistakes and everyone did it all to their best ability. If we sacrificed everything. Pride, Honor, Morals, Themselves, and eachother. Every tough call for even the slightest edge was made. We did everything right but we still lost. What then?" I shut my eyes tightly. I was too emotional after that stupid dream.

We did everything we could and still lost!

"Bullshit," Kenpachi growled.

I snapped my eyes open. He looked at me with stubborn eyes.

"Then you get stronger still. If you lose it's because you aren't strong enough."

I loved his way of thinking. It never changed.

* * *

 **AN** :

Aaaa sorry it was so long m(v.v)m. And let me explain my responding for one being able to go without sleep so long as she can meditate for a while. That's what Ichigo did before Aizen's battle. He went 3 months without sleeping or eating but his body still grew (by the remarks Tatsuki and them made when he emerged about him being taller and his hair longer). So I figured that the meditation was like a pseudo-sleep.


	5. The Glass Perception

**CHAPTER 5: The Glass Perception**

* * *

"Pick it up," Kenpachi growled again.

Rose stood over a corpse. He twitched. "But there's _diseases._ "

"Of for the love of... Kenpachi just pick up the sword for him." I hollered from another copse I was freeing of valuables.

"Ain't no way I'm teaching a weakling who cant even pick up his own sword!"

When morning came and Rose timidly asked Kenpachi to show him how to use a sword, Kenpachi just grunted. I pointed out that Rose didn't have a sword and Kenpachi had an easy answer.

We had ended up wading through two dozen corpses courtesy of Kenpachi. I could tell it was harder on Rose. He gagged several times and constantly had to hide his face in his sleeve. When we finally found a body with a nameless Zanpakuto Kenpachi insisted Rose take it off the body himself.

I wanted to protect Rose and shield him from the truth of the world. I finally understood why Gin could never take me with him. It was a very selfish act. This time I didn't have that luxury. I could not bear to handicap Rose by sheltering him.

Covering his mouth he finally bent down and grabbed the sword. He was repulsed at first but as he came back up with the sword in hand there was a glint in his eye. A glint I saw in many great soul reapers.

"Finally," Kenpachi swung around, picking up Yachiru from one of her arms and lifting her to his shoulder like a parrot. It was a wonder the girl never made a sound of pain or complaint. Only a soft giggle as she settled in.

Kenpachi never said he'd come with us but he hadn't said no either. As I started to move out he followed. His steps were slow and leisurely but I understood. He'd come with me looking for another fight.

"Where are we going now," Rose asked. He was still rubbing his sword with a corner of his cloak.

"South Rukon."

"That's like... months and months away," Rose complained. "What on earth are we doing there? Please don't tell me you're looking for another ally..."

So I said nothing.

"Oh great. What district this time? 80?" Rose took a sarcastic edge.

When I still said nothing Kenpachi grinned. "That's where we're going huh? I bet we'll find someone really strong there."

Yachiru clapped her hands together in glee for her best friend. "Kenny!"

I didn't know how to tell them that who we were recruiting- even I was unsure of my choice. This was going to have serious ramifications and risks. But if I didn't take the risk we'd loose for sure.

I was going to find Sosuke Aizen.

* * *

It was nice to have another Ally. Rose and Kenpachi sparred daily. I worried for the boy but he was getting stronger slowly and the number of times I had to step in because Kenpachi got out of control was pretty intense. He couldn't cut Kenpachi yet but it wouldn't be much longer until his spiritual pressure reached that point. Already Kenpachi was getting interested enough to stop bothering me for a battle every five seconds.

We traveled around the long way, going first down to the forest of district 59. We followed it around the Seireitei to the south. It went a lot easier now that we didn't have to hide our power. I did like that about the outer districts. And in the forest we had plenty of food, entertainment (hollows) and no people to get in our way.

At first everyone thought Aizen came from district 14. But research and development discovered something else. When Aizen was younger and still learning to control and deal with his power he was perceived to live somewhere in the vast space of south 80.

Finding him was going to be a challenge and then some but if I waited until he got to the Seireitei it would be too late to influence his mind at all.

Aizen had after all come closest to defeating Yhwach. If he had been completely unsealed he probably would have done it. It was our best chance alongside Kurosaki Ichigo.

And Rose was finally having dreams where his spiritual pressure fluctuated, indicating that soon his Zanpakuto spirit would take full form inside of his Zanpakuto and the imprint would be done.

* * *

 **43 years later.**

* * *

The loud clang of metal against metal rang through the forest. It would be unclear to the outside eye who was fighting who. If it was Rose and I against Kenpachi and the 10 thugs that decided to attack us that afternoon, or if it was all three of us against them. Kenpachi cared not who was friend or foe.

Yachiru was still draped on Kenpachi's back with her arms around his neck. She swung happily, giggling and occasionally planting her small feet into someones face with more power than she should be packing.

Rose was practically gliding through the enemy, parrying blows without an ounce of wasted energy in a very 'stylish' display of his power. I chose to hang back myself, letting them enjoy it. I wasn't much in the mood for fighting with petty souls.

"Gah! Dammit Yachiru I'm on your side!" Rose was yelling at her, grace gone as he clutched his bleeding nose and the tiny footprint on his face. She'd done more damage to him than any of the thugs had. He was positioning himself forward in a weird manor to keep the blood off his Yukata.

A laugh from Yachiru was his response. "Don't be so weak Rose!"

Rose's hair had been collected into a ponytail behind his back. He was a young man a little older than Ichigo had looked when they'd first started the war. He wore an out of place white Kimono with a black sash. There wasn't a spec of dirt on him.

Kenpachi fought with a frustrated grin. "Is this all District 80 has to offer? I thought there were supposed to be some strong ones out here!"

A tall blonde thug in front of him shouted obscenities like a prayer but didn't even get halfway to Kenpachi before he was cut down by Rose's sword.

Seconds later all the thugs were on the ground and incapacitated. I went forward with a large grin, pulling Rose into a hug that would have worked better on my captain. "You've improved so much Rose-kun. I'm running out of things to teach you!"

"You could start with Bankai," Rose mumbled, trying to pry me off and complaining about dirt on his Yukata.

"What makes you think I have that?" I looked up at him with innocence.

"Ya don't need to be relying on anything other than yourself," Kenpachi hollered over the bodies, flicking his sword clean of blood.

"Ugh, you two are so frustrating."

I sighed. "Rose your powers aren't mature enough. When you see Kinshara's true form then you'll be ready to start the next level of training."

He pouted and finished cleaning off his sword. He clearly thought I was looking down on him. "I hope you find this ally and he's at least willing to help me."

I scoffed. "We'll find him. Now are you going to help loot these guys?"

"No," Rose said. And Kenpachi was ignoring me. I angrily started sorting through the belongings of the men myself. In what cruel world would I have to be the hard working responsible one.

 _the same cruel world I lost all of my friends to,_ I thought bitterly.

My mood improved when I found a couple rolls of tobacco- we could trade that for something good- and two clay bottles of Sake. There was no money because money was useless this far out in the districts. Hell it was rare to find someone clothed in a normal outfit here. Rose was the only exception. Even my yukata was falling to shreds with wear. I was also finally growing out of it.

I stashed the loot into my bag and continued. "Alright."

Kenpachi with Yachiru riding him like a bird and Rose with his gottan back in his hands followed as we turned south. We were probably three weeks journey from where we first passed the border of the 80th. Running into people out here was rare. Those we did run into- like the thugs before- were dangerous and brutal.

There were fewer Morals out here than there had been in the war. And that was saying something.

"If we don't find him tomorrow we'll turn back. But I have a feeling he's close."

"If I wasted 40 some years on nothing you better have another duel to the death with me," Kenpachi warned.

I waved him off. "Let's find a good camping spot. I'm so tired!"

Nobody argued. A ways away we found a spot with enough bramble for a fire and a close spring for water. I pulled my yukata away from my skin. It was so hot out.

Kenpachi had already grabbed the two bottles of Sake from my bag, examining them. Rose was building up a fire like clockwork. Even though it was hot out the sun was setting and it would turn frigid soon.

"I'm going to take a dip. If either of you drink any of that Sake without me I'll kill you." I turned back.

They just nodded. Yachiru ran after me. "I wanna go too! Kenny come on!"

"It is awfully hot out," Rose agreed as he wiped soot from his hands. He then took off after the small girl. At Yachiru's insisting Kenpachi begrudgingly moved, taking the sake with him.

I didn't know how to tell the girl that it was a single person sport so I just sighed and continued. At the waters edge. It was lukewarm- a little minerally from the spring. Refreshing. I stripped my yukata to be left in a thin loincloth and a chest binding. Unlike back in the day with Hisagi and Kira, nobody batted an eye. It had taken nearly 70 years to get used to the fact that I barely looked 14 so I wasn't viewed as a woman by the older men.

The others got in as well. Rose in his own loincloth and Kenpachi just went in with all of his clothes on. They needed to be washed anyhow.

Yachiru stripped everything and catapulted into the water, coming up near Kenpachi and hanging onto his shoulder since she couldn't swim. Her little feet paddled the water.

Living in a district referred to as "hell" was actually the most peaceful time I'd ever had. Kenpachi was cracking open the Sake. Rose was humming. Yachiru's laughter surrounded us. Who would have thought our most joyful days would be in the most dangerous places. I knew nothing out here could hurt any of us.

Noticing Kenpachi was dangerously close to chugging all the Sake himself, I snatched the bottle from his hands. He let out a growl more animal than man. Rose rolled his eyes.

"Weren't you too young to be drinking Ran-chan?"

I scoffed, tilting the low quality substance to my lips. It was grainy and sharp but the familiar taste slid down well. "We're both over 100 years old now. Hell Kenpachi's probably about 700. And who the hell knows with the slow way Yachiru is aging. 'sides it will take more than one bottle to get me trashed. At least two!"

"'ow the hell do ya know how old I am," Kenpachi mumbled to himself. When I took the first bottle he'd started in on the second- which was a larger one.

I eyed his bottle calculatingly. I'd finished the 3/4ths that was in mine before tossing it to the side. "Ken-chan share," I scooted closer to snatch the rest of the bottle from him. "That bottle is larger! no fair. You need to share!"

He held it up away from my grip. "I'm bigger so shut the fuck up."

Even standing in the spring I couldn't reach the bottle. Asshole. Rose was no longer paying us attention. When I finally convinced a less-than-sober Zaraki to hand me the bottle I sat back down and took another long drink.

Then I turned to the unsuspecting Rose. Man he looked so much more like his older self. I could almost imagine it was back in the day with the two. I crawled towards him in the spring with the sake lifted. "Rose-kun~"

He eyed me with suspicion.

"C'mon just a sip. It's yummy."

"I doubt that. You're a mess. So much for two bottles to get drunk. You're gone with just one."

I was practically in Rose's lap now, Kenpachi watching amused. "If I've had enough then help me drink some."

Once again I didn't have the same effect on him I had in my past life. He wasn't fully mature and he wasn't exposed to enough girls to kickstart that part of him. I was still young too and while men with fewer morals would give it a go, Rose would never degrade himself like that.

He turned slightly red at the skin contact but turned his head away. "I don't think it would be good if we were all drunk."

"Stop whimperin'!" Kenpachi said. "We can take this district drunk off our asses so shutup and drink like a real man!"

Rose sighed. "Just a sip."

Something nudged the back of my mind but I pushed it back.

Rose took a small drink of the wine, and as I watched it slide down his throat I finally remembered why something was off.

I caught the bottle as it fell down between us. Rose's head lulled back down to stare right into my eyes. His cheeks were red and his eyes glossier than was even normal.

I'd completely forgotten that Rose was the lightest of lightweights.

"Rose-kun?" I asked carefully. I hoped he wouldn't throw up.

A wide grin split his face. "Ran-chan!" He wrapped his arms around my middle and lifted me up so he could rest his head on my heart. "I like you soooo much. Yer my verrrrry best friend!"

"You gotta be kidding," Kenpachi laughed loudly, face upturned.

I stood up, tossing back the rest of the bottle and dropping it at the side of the spring. "Ima l-let you guys drown."

I made my way- difficultly with Rose attached to my side still - back to the campfire and plopped down on my sleeping skin. Rose's wet hair tickled my legs as he lay with his head turned towards me on my lap and his hands securely around my waste.

Rose was like a child when he was drunk. I was slowly getting more and more sloshed as I struggled to hold a conversation.

"When are you going to leggo?"

"Never," Rose growled, eyes darkening. "I won' even let Kenpachi have ya."

Gently stroking his hair back into order I smiled. "You get jealous?"

Rose nodded into my lap. "When you spar with 'im yer soooo happy."

"Rose-kun... Kenpachi doesn't hold any affection for me."

Rose let out a frustrated noise. "It's not how he looks a' ya, it's how ya look at him."

I couldn't dispute him. With a small smile I continued soothing him by stroking his hair. He'd be asleep soon. Rose never lasted long intoxicated.

"Like you know him better than a lil girl like you shoul..."

"Oh Rose. Don't worry 'bout Kenpachi. I won't leave. Ever. And I'll protect you this time."

Rose was asleep. But Kenpachi was walking back to us. He was once again carrying a fully dressed Yachiru by the scruff of her yukata and miraculously she was peacefully asleep. He dumped her on the sleeping skin they shared. Once he woke she stirred enough to climb into his lap, not minding his wet shred of a yukata at all.

Kenpachi and I both had people relying on us. That understanding seemed to pass. Or maybe it was just from my clouded mind,

"This time," Kenpachi stared at me evenly.

"hm?" I closed my eyes and rocked back and forth slowly.

"What d'ya mean you'd protect him _this time_ ".

A sigh floated from my lips. Kenpachi and his oddly keen traits. Save our lives in battle, kill us afterwards.

"I lost someone before. I wont let it happen this time."

"Someone tha' makes ya think o' 'im?" Kenpachi jerked an eye to Rose. When I nodded he continued "Was that guy also the strongest guy that died?"

I shook my head now and held up two fingers. "Nope nope, those were two different people."

Kenpachi didn't make his drunkenness as apparent as I did, but he was more talkative when under the influence. "How many did ya loose?"

I opened my eyes and took him into my vision. Kenpachi. My friend. My last drinking buddy. " I lost all of them Taichou," I slurred softly, turning my eyes downcast.

It sounded to me like I'd said ' _I lost all of you, Taichou_ '. So similar I couldn't tell which one was correct. And consciousness evaded me before I could figure it out.

* * *

I woke up first. Courtesy of my still-young liver I didn't have a hangover I was just a tad more tired than normal. Rose was laying besides me still. Something about the blond passed out with his head down and only a loincloth on reminded me of Kira. I stifled a giggle and walked to the spring to get my yukata back on.

The fire was dead, I squatted down and debated starting a new one for breakfast. But we'd need to get some food in order to do that. Kenpachi had been complaining since yesterday he was hungry. Even Rose was getting peckish.

The forest for a hunt it would be. Starting a fire would be easy once I got back. Kenpachi let out a louder snore, startling me slightly. Yachiru seemed to burrow closer to him, also asleep on the large mans chest.

Staring at them made me feel nostalgia. It wasn't a bad sort though. Something about it was calming and familiar. After being thrust into the new world I welcomed anything close to my old life. When I studied him closely I could see how much younger Kenpachi was. He had fewer wrinkles. Still his body was almost unscarred saved for the one on his face and the one I inflicted through his shoulder.

How impressive. A man that sought nothing but fights, only injured once. Counting myself would be unfair. His scar was deep and drastic. A sigh escaped me. I was going to be lost in thoughts of the past if I didn't snap out of it.

I turned to collect Haineko, only to find Rose awake and staring at me with tired eyes. "Ran-chan?"

"Morning Rose-kun," I greeted lightly. "I was just about to try and find something edible out there."

Rose nodded, standing and stumbling in the direction of the spring for his clothes. "I best go with you then. We all know your cooking tastes are scary at best."

I pouted lightly. "I'm just not afraid to try new things."

Rose rolled his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. Once he'd retrieved his sword he joined me for the forest. "Whatever you say. I still don't know how you and Kenpachi drank an entire bottle of that stuff each. The taste was horrid."

"No, you can't be turned off on alcohol. That was just a really bad bit. Ah just wait till you get to the Seireitei. You'll want to drink for days."

"How do you know?"

"Clarvoyant," I shrugged. Rose dropped it but he let his gaze linger longer than I was comfortable with. So far Rose had been extremely patient and understanding with me but lately he was getting suspicious. I had doubt Kenpachi helped the situation either.

"I've been thinking about the Seireitei, you know. Are we going to go there once we find this person? Or are there others?"

It was a good question. I couldn't think of any others I wanted to recruit honestly. Everyone was either at an unknown location, already in the Seireitei, or not born yet. And then those like Hisagi and Kira I didn't want to get drawn into the mess. And then there was Gin...

"The Seireitei is a dangerous place."

"Ran-chan... we're in district 80."

Point taken. The conversation died quickly. We wadded through the bushes and the thick bramble until we came across deer prints. "Bingo!"

Rose and I took off in the direction of the prints.

"I just don't know why we wouldn't go to the Seireitei," Rose started the conversation again.

I grimaced. "I know. I know."

"What would we be able to accomplish out here?"

"Why do you keep making good points," I groaned.

"Because I just have more style."

"That has nothing to-"

We stopped at the same time, kicking up dirt in our attempt. Rose spoke first. "Spirit pressure. Four soul reapers."

I blanched. They were heading in our direction and there was no way they missed Rose or I. But these were strong. Two were at vice captain level and the others were all seated. I had no idea who the vice captain level Shinigami could be.

"Two of them are stronger than me," Rose admitted. "Should we run?"

I shook my head. "Then they'll give chase. We could outrun them but Kenpachi wouldn't be willing to run away from anyone. And if Kenpachi wakes up and senses that we're panicked he'll make things worse."

My reasoning made sense to Rose. "Then let's at least not be caught with out pants down."

I quickly stashed Haineko within my Yukata. It barely covered the sword and was a bit awkward. Rose did the same with his Zanpakuto. Thinking smart he pulled a small dagger out of his sleeve and held it. "We can't say we were just hunting if we don't have weapons."

Good point. Now I just couldn't figure out what soul reapers were doing out here. It was almost unheard of to send them this far. Hollows were too numerous and random to stage a hunt. Criminals were all over so there was no point. Not unless they were looking for someone.

It couldn't be me. We'd had too little interaction. It also wasn't Aizen because he came to the Seireitei himself in his time. Nothing made sense.

Three minutes later the soul reapers appeared out of the bushes. They formed a semi-circle meant to make us feel trapped.

"HALT!" A slightly accented male voice shouted. "By order of the 13 court guard squads."

Rose was the first to act surprised and toss his hands up. I followed quickly after recovering from those in front of me. "They're up."

Sarcastic remarks weren't going to help my situation I knew. But it was how I chose to handle the situation. My chest felt heavy and my feet numb. My line of sight went to the ground as I willed long suppressed memories away.

"Ran-chan?" Rose questioned softly. I steeled myself to look up and look right between the faces of Hirako Shinji and Shiba Isshin. Shinji already had the telltale Vice captain badge. Not bad for 100 years. The other boy didn't have any distinguishing badges and was currently sporting the normal shuhakusho. I never saw Isshin this young. He was younger than Rose even.

The elephant on my chest was back. It was almost impossible to get air. Before in the heat of the moment facing Shinji wasn't that hard. But now he almost looked like an adult and his face had grown into that telltale smile of his. I just couldn't do it...

"We don't mean any harm," Shinji added. "My name is Hirako Shinji, vice captain of squad 12. We're looking for-"

"Fukutaichou," Ishin glanced to Shinji's side.

Shinji had stopped moving, only recognizing us now. Great. I turned my eyes sharply to Rose, trying to give him the warning that we may have to hightail it out of there with force. His eyes widened in recognition of the memory almost a century ago.

But Shinji moved first, flashstepping to my side and slinging an arm around my shoulder. "If it isn't my first love-"

He was quickly silenced by a shoe in his face, falling back off me before I could push him off myself. That wasn't the reaction I was looking for. And it didn't make it any easier to face him when he acted so much like his old self.

Hiyori stepped out from where she was being hidden by the other two Soul reapers, shaking her other sandle in a threatening manner. "Why the hell do you do that!"

"Shinji!" Isshin ran to his side.

Shinji came up just a moment later, holding his nose. "Hiyori! What the hell! Don't disrespect your vice captain like that! What would Hikifune-taichou say."

"If I tell her you're hitting on the enemy she'll never cook for you again. IDIOT!"

Shinji let out a loud and obnoxious complaint. Isshin took the initiative while they were distracted and the other two Soul reapers tried to calm them down. Isshin was still so young it was hard to imagine him as a captain or as Ichigo's father.

"Sorry about them," He sighed, looking back up with fevered renewal. "The names Shiba! Isshin Shiba. We're looking for someone. So we're going to have to check you two out."

"If you're looking for someone shouldn't you at least know what they look like," Rose deadpaned, rolling his eyes.

I nudged him gently. "You're not helping."

"We're looking for a murderer."

Rose scoffed. "Really? Out in district 80?"

Now I rolled my eyes at Rose. His habit of pointing out obvious flaws in peoples logic was annoying at best.

Rose continued, twirling his dagger in his right hand. "We were hunting, can't you tell?" Now just tell us what exactly you're looking for and maybe we can prove to you we're not it, and we can go on our way."

"Why don't you just cooperate and stop being so snitty," Isshin glared.

"That's what we're trying to be," Rose took a step forward now. He was a little taller than the boy and definitely stronger. Only Hiyori and Shinji outranked him in spiritual pressure.

Isshin picked up on his attitude and also too a step forward, hand on his sword. He had a shorter temper than I remembered.

Shinji had recovered now and was on his way to our rescue, putting a hand out to diffuse the situation and sliding closer to me once more. "These guys are good Isshin. I know them personally."

Before he could put his arm around me again I knocked him away with the back of my hand as if it was muscle memory.

"Since when did you know me personally?"

"Or me," Rose scoffed.

"What! Don't tell me you two forgot about the dashing hero who saved you from a hollow back in North Rukon!"

"If they were in North Rukon why are they all the way out here?" Hiyori glowered. She stepped fully into the light and I could see she looked exactly the same as she had. Maybe a tiny bit younger. It was very strange, almost as hard as seeing Yuroichi.

"Shiba-dono," One of the soul reapers called from the back. "These two have a lot more spiritual pressure than the ones we're looking for."

They all shut up and seemed to take a second to feel eachother out. The lid on my spiritual energy was tight enough that I probably seemed at the same level as Rose. Shinji grinned wider. "You've gotten stronger little girl."

"So have you," I pointedly nodded to his Vice captains badge. "Thanks for saving me from the hollow back then."

He looked uncomfortable. Rose was staring him down with a glare.

"Er well, no problem."

A tick mark marred my forehead. "No really," I said with fake admiration. "What ever can I do to thank you."

He scratched his cheek lightly, looking away. a faint blush appearing on his face. "I-"

He was on the ground a second later as a second shoe hit him square in the face. Hiyori stomped forward. "Now! Who are you two?"

"You guys stopped us. Isn't it proper manners to introduce yourself first," Rose turned his nose up as if breathing the same air as her was insulting.

"How abut you just tell me why I shouldn't kill you both."

"So graceless," Rose gave in. "My name's Otorobashi Rose. Most people call me Rose but I'd prefer to be called Otorobashi-san from someone as _unstylish_ as you."

It took Isshin and Shinji both to hold back the irate little girl that came after Rose. Though Shinji seemed to be smiling slightly at Hiyori's anger. I smiled a little at the scene. How familiar.

It was nice to see them alive and well and not-

Hiyori calmed down enough to get Shinji to let go. Rose was enjoying the banter even if nobody else was.

"I never got yer name," Shinji realized. "Ya never told us."

"That's Matsumoto Rangiku. We call her Ran-chan but I'd prefer it if someone as unsuited to her as yourself just called her Matsumoto-san" Rose looked Shinji dead in the eyes.

Now it was Isshin's turn to hold Shinji back. Hiyori offered no help asides from the laughter that had her bent over.

"I'm Himiko Okimo, 7th seat of the 12th division" An older brown haired man called from the back. "And that's Judani Koboto, the 10th seat of the 12th division," He pointed a tall skinny guy trying to calm the others down.

"Nice to meet you," I said lightly, then gave Rose a look. "Stop antagonizing Hiyori."

"Don't do my introductin for me," Hiyori glowered. "The names Hiyori Sarugaki. Third seat of the 12th Division," She jabbed a thumb at her chest with pride.

"Nothing to get so happy about," Shinji mumbled.

Before the feud could start again I lunged in the middle of it. "So, you guys are looking for someone?"

Shinji nodded. "Yeah. Er, tall blonde and pretty measly spiritual pressure."

"What did he do for you to look all the way out here," Rose questioned.

Isshin spoke up. "He's a murderer."

Rose wouldn't have it. "That doesn't explain it. You're unlikely to find someone out here that isn't one. I mean he must have killed someone important."

From the way all but Hiyori flinched, I guessed Rose was correct.

"Does he always do this," Shinji asked me in desperation.

"Point out obvious flaws in your lies? Oh yeah."

Rose looked quite proud with himself. "Well I have good points."

"We don't need to tell you guys anything," Hiyori said.

"Yeah It's best if we keep it confidential. Ya haven't seen anyone matching that description?" Shinji looked hopeful.

We thought about it and Rose spoke first. "Well there's a group of people back west. Uh abut 2 Kilometers. Their bodies should still be there. Might be worth checking to see if they meet the description."

"Thankyou," Isshin bowed and they quickly headed that way. Only Shinji lingered behind a little longer.

"How'd ya stumble across a bunch of corpses out here?"

Rose just smiled, in a way that reminded me too much of Kenpachi. "We didn't. They stumbled across us."

Shinji paled. "I'll be..."

Sensing an uncomfortable situation I needed to be free of, I stepped in to wave him off. "Well this was nice and all but I'm sure I'll see you again someday, Shinji-kun, Good luck catching the bad guys!" A rush of warmth moved through me. How nice it was to wish him off knowing I'd actually be able to see him again someday. Goodbye's in the past were often unsaid even though we knew they might be gone the next day.

I wish I would have gotten a chance to say Godbye to Shinji before.

"Alright alright. Glad to see your Zanpakuto is working out," He pointedly eyed my robes. Now I knew what he was doing when he got so close and tried to drape an arm over my shoulders. Sneaky bastard.

I gave him nothing to work with and he was quickly on his way.

"Probably a noble," Rose surmised, knocking me out of my trance. "Why else would they send such a high ranking soul reaper out here."

I agreed. "Mm, I hope they find em. Now I still have to find breakfast and then we need to look for Aizen again."

Rose groaned. "Again with this guy. I think I'll head back to camp to make sure Kenpachi doesn't get up and decide to go for a hunt himself. If he senses that Shinji fellow or that Angry midget..."

"Thanks. I'll be back right after you."

He disappeared in a shoddy flash step. It was getting better for sure. I had no doubt he was making better progress than he would have in the Seireitei. It was the first bit of good news I'd had since deciding to search for Aizen.

The sun was now halfway to noon. There were several hollows about but I ignored them. I flashstepped at a leisurely pace through the forest. It was easier without Rose. Since I'd lost the deer I stopped upon spotting a large rabbit. I unsheathed Haineko and prepared to flashstep to my prey.

Before I could move I noticed that three of the Hollows spiritual pressure I sensed earlier had conjugated together and then suddenly surged in strength as if to attack. It would have been normal considering the soul reapers but they weren't in that direction. And there was a new signature there instead. It wasn't strong. In fact it was so weak I could barely sense it, hence why I hadn't felt it before. But something there was being attacked by those hollows. Maybe it was the murderer that those soul reapers were looking for?

The helpless rabbit ran off and I used Shunpo to speed my way to the signature. My heart was racing in my chest for an unknown reason. Something about the energy made me feel uncomfortable.

In a small clearing three hollows were slowly circling their prey. In the middle of them sat a brown haired kid with a calm disinterested gaze that could rival Rose. At first I was disappointed it wasn't the murderer. The description was too off. He didn't bother looking up or acknowledging my presence in any way, just as he ignored the hollows. It was that which alerted me to his true identity before anything else. Not his shaggy blue Yukata or his mop of brown curly hair or his large glasses-which were unheard of this far out in the Rukongai.

Aizen...

My blood ran cold. So much hate boiled forward at the sight of this child. I honestly didn't know I hated him to that extent. Not after he helped Ichigo with Yhwach and Ichigo explained to me his real thoughts on Aizen. In the rush of the war I'd practically forgiven him of his sins.

But since things had calmed down the pain was returned and I remembered every grudge. This man had still taken my world from me. He'd robbed me of my innocence before I knew what that meant when he sent those men. He'd robbed me of the life I could have had with Gin. And then he killed him. He'd killed my best friend.

Aizen was a thief. He deserved death. If I killed him right now before he had power I could prevent the entire situation. It would just be another Rukongai death. Nobody would hurt me or Gin ever again. And with the hollows I could disguise his death easily.

I widened my eyes at that train of thought.

 _No..._

I drew Haineko out from my robes and launched, taking out a frog-like hollow with a single hit to the back of the head. It's screams pulled the second hollow in my direction while the third one prepared to eat the unmoving soul in front of it..

"You smell delicious," A hollow reminiscent of a bear licked its lips with a long purple tongue.

Haineko hummed in protest at having to do work as I placed my hand on her blade. "Growl, Haineko."

She disintegrated before you could blink, suddenly a wall of ash was surrounding me. With the slightest movement of my hand it shot towards the hollow attacking Aizen and engulfed it in a tornado of ash, swirling and grinding until a the hollow disintegrated into black spirit particles.

The hollow in front of me faced much the same fate. The ash rose into a thick wall that the hollow could not break through. Then from behind the ash that had just taken down the third hollow turned on the second, locking it in on all sides.

The ash swirled around quickly like a tornado and then suddenly disappeared, back into sword form a second later with neither hollows to be found. With that out of the way I re-sheathed Haineko and walked towards the boy.

I swallowed and stared him down evenly. His attention was still on the ground in front of him. He was older than me but younger than Rose.

It was hard to remind myself that Aizen had already suffered a befitting death at the hands of Yhwach. He'd suffered for two years in the Mukon. An area I never wanted to be part of. This boy sitting in front of me was still innocent. He was lost and alone, just like Kenpachi had been before Unohona-taichou fought him. He believed he was alone in his power and it made him desperate to find a reason to live.

So instead of trying to change the past with violence and my own personal revenge, I vowed that I would become his Unohana.

In the dirt in front of him he was drawing lines with an incredibly well balanced stick . They were perfectly symmetrical and parallel and while they made no sense to me I had no doubt that they served a purpose. Aizen was conceited and a bastard but he was never mad in a conventional way.

"You should have run," I scolded lightly.

When I sat across from him, hoping to get him to acknowledge me he still continued on his way. Aizen wasn't one I'd rush. The moment he felt his control over the situation was lost he'd go on the defense. He told us once that his goal was not to destroy soul society but to prevent anyone from ruling over him.

Following that train of thought, instigating a fight him wouldn't accomplish anything. He would never submit to anyone it would just drive him to surpass them. Lying to him and tricking him would be very difficult given the situation.

I could see the lines better now but they still held mo meaning.

"Why would I run when there's a perfectly capable soul reaper here," Aizen finally spoke. His words were much lighter than I thought they would be. Too much like his old self. "Although... I didn't know if you would save me for a second."

"Neither did I," I spoke with honesty.

This made him look up. And once he did a look of confusion crossed his face. It was slight but anyone who had been acquainted with Aizen would be able to tell.

"You're not a soul reaper. It seems I miscalculated." His eyes went to Haineko. "What are you?"

Of course he was right, but thinking he was wrong would give me the advantage. "What if I tell you I'm something you haven't seen yet?"

"I would want to know what that was."

Our eyes met and I could feel that I was older than him in spirit. Even if he sat taller than me and his face was a little more filled out. This was never something I felt when compared to Aizen before.

"I'll tell you a story _Aizen_ , if you'll listen."

* * *

 _This was the hardest chapter yet. Aizen is not easy to figure out mentally and if it wasn't for Tite Kubo suggesting 'Stand ablaze' by In flames as his theme song I might never have gotten it. Also coming up with a meeting for them- ah I rewrote it like 10 times. Phew. It will be much smoother from here. I wonder how much she'll divulge to Aizen O.o_

 _Some more favorites will be making their appearances soon~_


	6. The Risk of an Ally

"823 years from today, on the 31st of August, our world ends."

That had Aizen looking up from his lines once more. He'd agreed to listen to my story as a scientist would agree to a new experiment. His eyes scanned my face. What was up with strong enemies and making me feel so vulnerable? New and Old Aizen did it. Yhwach sure as hell had his fun making me feel that way. They paid too much attention because they were strong.

Or perhaps they were strong because they paid too much attention.

"I will listen to your fantasy," Aizen looked up, adjusting his glasses.

"You don't need those," I said affirmatively.

He motioned in question to his glasses and I nodded. "But they make you look gentler."

"I will accept that you know too much about me, though it unsettles me. And you have the pressure of soul reaper. Yet you are young. You do not feel right."

I closed my eyes and tried to push back every emotion I had. I couldn't afford to have a single thought or sentence driven by emotion. In front of Aizen, it had to be hard, cold, facts. A single crack and my advantage would be lost as he wormed his way through the gap.

Telling him was also a dangerous decision. This was the biggest gamble I would take. Ever. I was always better than the guys at cards and dice, so maybe this would work. And if not...

I'd already lost everything once. I'd find a way.

My eyes snapped open as I began. "In 302 years Soul Society will be invaded. A couple Dozen humans- calling themselves the Sternritters- will invade. They are superhuman warriors blessed with power from one man. They claim to be part of a 'Quincy' race. Do you know what a Quincy is?"

His eyes narrow in speculation. "I assume humans that can utilize their own spiritual powers. That can separate the power in their souls just like Shinigami. Theoretically, it should be possible."

"Close," I said.

He played with the words in his mind. I could see him connecting some dots. "But if 'our' world ends in 823 years, what happened between the time they invaded and then?"

"War happens," I said lightly. "It stretched for 521 years."

"A couple dozen humans could not keep all of soul society entertained. While it is true that humans should- hypothetically- be able to separate their souls like we can their power would be minimal. Perhaps if all in the human world rose up they would stand a chance but a dozen? Certainly not."

Making sure my voice was even I said, "Which is why I said 'close' when you guessed what they were. See these Quincy received a portion of their leader's power."

"A soul reaper?"

"No. A human. Of sorts. I think he was born before the Hakuchi period. At least 2,000 years old."

"No human could-"

"I know. Truth be told I don't know what he is. He is said to be the source of all Quincy power. He's stronger than Yamamoto was. One of his subordinates mimicking him was stronger than Yamamoto was, I should say. Their powers were different than ours. One had the ability to make you feel fear. One could turn others into zombies-dead or alive. Hell, another could turn their very imagination into reality. Just thinking someone's bones were cookies then suddenly they were."

Aizen looked doubtful. "What are cookies?"

"A sweet bread," I skipped over it quickly. "Look these guys defeated everyone. For over five centuries. And we were helpless. They killed you too. And you were so strong. Your Zanpakuto had the ability to- well you'll find out. But you were probably the strongest in all of the soul society until the war. "

"I die?"

"I know you don't want to believe it. You've never been graceful about defeat. But maybe that's just because you're too strong hm?"

"One thing bothers me," Aizen swapped the conversation out. "At first I thought you were pretending to see the future. But that is not it. You talk as if all of this is in the past. Why is that?"

My mouth went dry. I was planning on telling Aizen the whole truth but I didn't like the way he spelled it out for both of us.

"Because I was there." I held up my hand when he looked to rebuke the possibility of that. "Listen Aizen, I don't know why I went back to now. But I was there and I lived it. Sometimes I wonder if it was all in my head but the events keep going in the natural order as they did before. I know about you and about how you're suppressing your power even now. How you're so strong you don't think anyone can match up to you."

I took a deep breath "And I'll prove that I know it all in time. But first, let me tell you the important bits."

At his permission I continued, moving my legs into a more comfortable position in front of me. "I can't tell you some things. I'm not lying to you, I just want to clarify. So here's the gist of what I know.

"You're going to join the 13 court guard squads. There you'll quickly rise to Vice-captain of the 5th division. In about 200 years you obtain an object that can manifest what you desire. It's a magnificent creation but it's deadly. You used it to try and turn souls into hollows and hollows into souls. If I guessed why it would be all speculation. Then another 100 years of peace and you- now a captain- decided to leave us for Huecco Mundo- the land of the Hollows."

Aizen's eyes genuinely went wide. I pushed past his shock and continued. I kept slipping back into past tense instead of future tense.

"So you try to betray us. You create your own army of modified hollows and you attack us. But we won and you were sentenced to... well, I won't go into the details."

Aizen narrowed his eyes. "I doubt even with my power I can stand up to the 13 court guard squads."

"You couldn't imagine how strong you were. You did have two other captains helping you but they didn't matter as much in the long run."

"Then how am I defeated?"

"A combination of our power and the Ho- uh, the item that you created to manifest your own desires- you fused with it. Then it rejected you giving us the needed opening."

His face looked genuinely troubled.

"But two years later you're free because Soutaichou believed we need your power. He sacrificed himself to free you. That's how strong you were. Your Zanpakuto was effective against our enemy."

"And I die a second time?"

I nodded. "Don't make me describe it."

He considered it. "How old would you be?"

I flushed at the awkward question. "Well, I've been here this time for about 100 years. And last time I died when I was 900? Ah man, I'm getting old."

I could practically hear Haineko mocking me in the background. Always going on and calling me old woman. Though she didn't pick on me as much in the later years when I actually did look older. I guessed around 50 was when I died.

"So in the future, I join soul society, find a way to break down the line between soul reaper and hollow, then defect. I get defeated, my own creation rejecting me. My punishment isn't one you'll describe to me but it takes the sacrificing on the head captain of your time to free me. But then I lose again to a human that is somehow older and stronger than any soul reaper. Once again you won't give me the details of my death."

I nodded and lightly shrugged. He caught on quick. "Well, that's the gist of it."

"It is a stretch to believe. It makes more sense that you somehow discovered my name and you can tell I am a little stronger than I let on."

"A little," I snorted, "Look just give me some time to prove it to you. You'll see."

He pondered it, looking back down on the lines in the ground. "But If I am the enemy why tell me? Would it be better to kill me now and rid yourself of a problem?"

"No," I said firmly. "I'll admit I wanted to at first. You caused me some pain, personally. I still hate you so much it's hard to breathe."

He opened his mouth slightly. "What do I do to you?"

"It isn't important. The reason I don't kill you is that your influence changes everything in the end. We got stronger because we had to face you. If we were any weaker we wouldn't have lasted as long as we did."

"So then why not let things play out as they had before? Let me change things for the better. If you don't want to stop me why are you her?"

Silence suspended as I steadied myself. He was convincing even when talking about his own demise. "Because it still wasn't enough. I can't just let things go like they had last time. If I do we will lose. I need you to not get locked away. And you're too smart for me to try and trick you. If I tried to overpower you that wouldn't earn your respect."

"Clever. You want me to go through the steps for you. You want me to listen to what you say until the enemy is defeated?"

I shook my head again. "No Aizen. I'm not coming to you wanting to control you. I came to you for help. I know you don't want this world to cease to exist. I need your help Aizen as much as you need mine to prevent that. And Afterwards, we can work out the rest."

He seemed to like that answer a little better, but his guard was still up. "Who are you?"

"Matsumoto Rangiku. Everyone seems to call me Ran-chan anymore though."

Aizen turned back to his lines, setting his stick down to the side. "I do not have a response to-"

"We have company," I said. It wasn't needed because we both looked up at the same time.

At that moment Shinji burst through the treeline and into the clearing, his Zanpakuto was out but it was unneeded. he blinked a few times and then sheathed the sword.

"If we keep meeting like this Hiyori will be jealous," Shinji said lightly. "Here I was heading to save ya again when-"

"Damnit! Why do you keep saying YOU saved ME? What the hell!" I growled back in annoyance. I climbed off the ground. Surprisingly Aizen did the same. He held no sword but his stance was no less threatening.

Shinji had instinctively leaned back as if expecting a shoe to fly forward. "Well ya know, I ain't got no idea who's supposed to know and who isn't."

Aizen sent me a pointed look. I shook my head at Aizen to signify that no, Shinji didn't know about me. "I saved this losers butt back in the day."

Shinji groaned. "Oi kid have ya killed anyone recently?"

Aizen didn't honor his question with a response.

"What kind of interrogation is that! Idiot!" I suddenly understood why Hiyori grew to have such a short temper. "And no I can vouch that he definitely hasn't killed the person you're thinking of."

Shinji rubbed the back of his head and looked towards the east. "Man, I came all the way here for nothing. The others are checking those bodies ya told us about. I thought I got lucky."

"Ma ma, Shinji-kun, It was a good bet. Though there were some hollows."

"I see Yuroichi-san's Zanpakuto suits you well."

I smirked Sheepishly. "Yeah she does the trick," I patted Haineko's sheathed form fondly.

"She?" Shinji gave a perceiving look.

I shrugged.

"Why doncha come to the Seireitei," Shinji asked thoughtfully. "If ya took down these here hollow just like ya did the ones before, then it shouldn't be a problem to pass the exam. Drop ma name and there ya go."

"I appreciate the offer Shinji but..." Or more, I understood exactly why he wanted me in the Seireitei. Keep your enemies closer and all that.

"Always the greatest damn mystery ain'tcha?" Shinji waved his hand to the side to dismiss it. "What about you?"

Aizen ignored his question at first, studying him instead. A moment longer passed of what had to be one of the most awkward situations I'd been in. This kid wasn't exactly normal at this point. It was obvious he was still trying to figure out how to respond properly in social situations.

"I'm with her," Aizen finally said. Shinji and I both let out the breath we were holding. I was glad Aizen decided to stick around a while longer instead of going to the Soul Society.

"Of course you-"

Shinji stopped talking. Aizen was looking to the south along with me. A very dense spiritual pressure was on its way. Shinji and Aizen were on the alert.

I was too, but for a different reason. I let out an elongated Groan. "You have to be kidding..."

It was getting closer, and the Reiatsu denser. This always happened when he was excited...

"Who the hell is that," Shinji was actually a little paler than normal. "What the hell is that?"

"The intent to kill..."

I was pulling my hair out at Aizen's comment.

Then from nearly the same spot Shinji had burst out from the undergrowth, came Zaraki. In his intimidating form, he lunged from the bushes, wasting no time with his sword already drawn. His spiritual pressure was so riled up it fearfully reminded me of Ichigo's.

There was no time at all as he moved faster than the normal soul reaper could flash step and swung his sword down towards Shinji.

"Kenpachi!" I shouted, at the same time using my own Flash step to try and block the hit with Haineko. I may not have been needed because while my blade struck his towards the base Rose had arrived in his own flash step and blocked the tip of Zaraki's Zanpakuto with his own.

The both of us were able to successfully block the hit from landing on Shinji, heels digging into the ground.

"Kenpachi what are you doing! He's a member of the 13 court guard squads," Rose gritted out, struggling to remain standing in front of the pressure.

I pushed back, Kenpachi slowly loosing his advantage as my slight frame struggled to get him back. Spiritual pressure could only do so much after all. My bones weren't quite strong enough to really overpower him in this position.

"Damn Kenpachi! This isn't an enemy."

Zaraki leaped back, sword resting on his shoulder. From below the pink blur of Yachiru jumped forth. She gave a small giggle, crawling up and perching on his shoulder. "They don't want to play Kenny. No fun!"

"Damn right that's no fun," Kenpachi growled.

I let out a sigh, turning quickly back to a very stunned Shinji. Rose continued to berate Kenpachi in the background.

"Sorry, Shinji. Really. He didn't mean any harm."

Shinji sputtered a little "What the hell? His spiritual pressure's greater than mine. Hell, it might be greater than my captains!"

"He's got good Genes," I offered.

"Like hell," Shinji and Rose said at the same time.

"This is my other friend," I said. "And Kenpachi this is Shinji Hirako, the lieutenant of the 12th division of the court guard. And this is Sosuke Aizen."

"You finally found him," Rose stopped giving Kenpachi grief and walked to the other boy. "Man I don't know what Ran-chan wants with you but I'm sorry. You'll have to deal with him too," Rose motioned to Kenpachi.

Aizen had no response. He surveyed both Kenpachi and Rose to assess their worth but gave no hints of his judgment.

I turned away from their greeting again. "Sorry, Shinji he just-"

"Have a spar with me," Kenpachi tried again.

"A-as much as I'd love to do that I'm going to just go and, uh, meet up with the rest of my squad and remain alive. I'll hope to see you in the Seireitei soon!"

"Don't run away from-" Kenpachi stopped shouting, Shinji a dozen flash steps away by then. He spun around on me this time. "What the hell were you doing stopping me?"

"Kenny just wanted to have fun," Yachiru pouted from her perch.

"What the hell was I doing? What the hell were you doing? He was a lieutenant!"

Kenpachi bristled. "So what? My spiritual pressure is higher."

"That isn't it! Do you want to kill a high ranking officer? The 13 court guard squads wouldn't let that slide."

"Then let them come. We'll slaughter them all!"

I softened my stance a little. "Kenpachi..."

"Fool," Aizen said simply. "What would reeking havoc and waging war accomplish?"

"The fuck did this little kid just say?"

"Ma, Ma, Kenpachi calm down. Aizen-san has a good point," Rose tried to diffuse the situation.

It only made matters worse. I stood by and watched as Kenpachi seemed to grow in size. "You mean this is the kid we've been looking here for the past 40 years? He doesn't look strong at all!"

Before he could turn in anger to me, Aizen surprisingly stood up to the plate, stepping in front of Rose calmly. "My apologies. Perhaps in the near future, I can spar with you to demonstrate."

"Is that a challenge, pipsqueak?"

"Come on you two," Rose looked back to me for help.

"That's enough! Aizen this is Kenpachi from Zaraki. He's with us," I explained. "And Kenpachi this is Sosuke Aizen. Trust me I wouldn't bring us out here for 40 years for nothing. You should know that at least!"

Kenpachi let out a 'tch' and looked away. His stance had relaxed a bit. "Whatever. Let's just get out of this damn forest. This way,"

"No it's this way, Ken-chan, This is the way," Yachiru put a hand on top of his head and turned him around."

"Isn't it-" Aizen stopped talking when Rose shook his head.

"We don't bother. That's Yachiru from Kusajushi. Her sense of direction sucks," I explained in a quiet whisper."

"Ran-Ran you're so mean to me!" Yachiru complained, slightly muffled because she was hanging off Kenny's neck.

Nobody paid much attention to the claim.

It was an odd mix to have, and I never imagined these four being in such close proximity. Of course, these many strange and headstrong personalities in one place was bound to spell trouble.


	7. Gin

Two months later and we were back in the familiar forest between district 59 and went faster once Rose mastered his Flash step a little more. Aizen had- not surprisingly- picked up on the ability after just one month of practice. Aizen never said much to the others and he slept less than even me.

Everything he did seemed to be like clockwork though. He always woke up at the same time and went to bed at the same time. He folded his sleeping skin as soon as he was out of it. Everything he had was stored away with close precision. It was eery sometimes how meticulous he was.

Kenpachi and Yachiru were blind to his habits. Rose noticed something wasn't quite right but he brushed it off as a genius quirk'. Perhaps he was right. One couldn't have that much intelligence in them and not have some sort of imbalance.

Aizen was notoriously clean and orderly.

Kenpachi liked to fight anything, relying on instinct.

Rose was a delicate soul and enjoyed music and style.

Yachiru was such a bundle of emotions and joy, it wasn't even funny.

And I... well I was so war torn and ruined I figured I lost most of my quirks. Maybe drinking and flirting, if you could count those.

Lately, all of my dreams seemed to be of the old times. I rarely dreamed about the war- which was a relief. But waking up from war-ridden dreams was easy. I felt an instant relief flood through me as I realized it was no more. The adjustment to reality was welcome.

Waking up from the other, more pleasant dreams, would be hell on earth. Instead of relief, it brought nostalgia, mourning, and a shortness of breath as I realized those times were gone and I was never getting them back.

"Fight me!"

I groaned, rolling over on my sleeping mat and blinking away the fog. I could see the tall outline of the figure through the dim light of the morning.

A grin slit across my face and I gave him a mischievous grin, still half asleep. "My my Zaraki-Taichou, you're so forward. Coming to a girls room."

Confusion set on his face. "I don't even know where ta start with that one."

His more primal growl woke me, jolting up and shaking my head of dreams. "S-sorry Kenpachi. I had the strangest dream you were a captain and I had a room to sleep in all to myself."

I remembered a similar event with my captain. After first finding out Gin might be up to no good I'd drunk myself into a stupor and thought I Was in my room, when really I was in Hitsugaya-taichou's."

"Weird-ass," Kenpachi mumbled. "Why won't you fight me?"

I started rolling up my sleeping mat. "Well first off I don't want to die."

Kenpachi let out a loud scoff. "Stop bullshitting me Ran! Fight me! I need a good warmup."

His outburst didn't wake Rose or Yachiru- who were snoring away peacefully. And Aizen's sleeping mat was already neatly tucked away and the boy was nowhere to be found. No alarms were raised though. Aizen did that enough.

"That Aizen kid won't fight me either."

"You know you wouldn't enjoy it. His fighting style isn't like yours."

"He's a damn thinker. Rose is getting ruined by it too."

"We can have a light spar," I laughed lightly, readjusting my Yukata to cover a bit more and grabbing Haineko. I was actually going through a tiny growth spurt and I knew in the next few years some new clothes would be in order. "There's nothing wrong with being a thinker."

"Then why aren't you one?" He was already walking away from the campsite and into the forest. We both knew there was a clearing not too far off by a cool spring. We'd used the pool to bathe last time we went this way.

I tilted my head in thought. "What makes you think I'm not a thinker? I'm pretty serious when it comes to a real fight."

Kenpachi scoffed. "That don't mean shit Ran. Just because you get serious in a fight doesn't mean you're a thinker. You fight like..."

He couldn't think of the word so he let it drop. I came across he clearing, brushing my hair back behind my ears. "Just a warm-up Kenpachi."

We both knew there was no such thing as a 'spar' to Kenpachi from Zaraki.

We stood about ten feet apart, sizing each other up. Kenpachi held his shredded Zanpakuto in his right hand and I held Haineko in my left. "Why don't ya use both hands?"

I almost told him that I used to. But after losing my right arm in the past life, I had gotten in the habit of using my left. And nobody had challenged me into using two arms since coming back. "Why don't you," I parried.

Kenpachi grinned. "Never needed to try," He said as he charged towards me.

Kenpachi only ever charged first with me. He wasn't stupid. His sword was sharp and quick. He had speed like Gin and Ichigo. His strength was unlike anything I could ever remembering feeling. Every strike felt like Kira's Wabisuke. The old me wouldn't last two minutes.

My elbow creaked with the strain of blocking one of his attacks head-on. I had to learn to NOT do that.

"You're strong Ran, but your body can't handle it yet." Kenpachi scolded me for the first time. Usually, I was the one giving him tips.

It did concern me. I knew this meant that Kenpachi was getting stronger- at an alarming speed. I couldn't have him get too much stronger than he did in his normal timeline. If he ended up killing all of our friends prematurely there would be a whole new issue. He didn't have the same control as Aizen or Rose.

"Release your Zanpakuto," Kenpachi commanded.

I raised an eyebrow, leaping away away from him. "I thought this was just a warmup."

"At this rate, it'll take hours to tire me out. I want you to fight with more power."

"If I do that it'll become a death match. My Shikai isn't meant for sparring either."

"I want your Bankai," Kenpachi corrected.

A groan escaped me. "Not you too. Rose and you seem to have it in your head that I have a bankai."

"I can feel you do. It's no use lying. I want to see it."

"Kenpa-"

"Enough! Stop with all the gibbering Ran and show it to me before I make you."

He was at my throat before he finished the sentence. It took everything I had to parry each of his blows, and at one point he did nick me on the arm. It took a moment to understand why he was suddenly so much stronger.

He was using two hands, and he was mimicking some of the moves I made. I was impressed at his instinctual learning and realized my cause for concern had just grown. I needed to put him down quick.

"Hado #54: Haien!" I held my hands out, shooting a ball of purple energy towards him with fire capabilities. To my dismay, it didn't even scratch him as he cut it in half with his sword.

"What the hell was that? I said I wanted to see your Bankai!"

I dodged another attack, frustrated. I couldn't show him any higher level kido since we didn't have a healer. "Fine! Damn it Kenpachi I'll show you."

He stood up with a grin. I begrudgingly stuck Haineko into the ground. She was purring with excitement. For such a lazy cat she was also a show-off.

I started to remove my Yukata. Kenpachi looked genuinely shocked. "The fuck are you doing?"

"If I don't take off my clothes first they'll be ruined, I said simply. "Now turn around."

"Some convenient skill that is. What if you're in a real fight?"

But Kenpachi had turned his head to the side to give me some privacy anyways.

"Well, in that case, I suck it up and deal with the aftermath. But right now I don't have a spare Yukata."

Once done I shivered slightly in the shadows of the canopy. "Bankai!"

Haineko disappeared a moment later. A thick layer of ash and smoke filled the air.

There was a heat around me but it didn't burn or feel uncomfortable. Through the steam rising from it I could see Kenpachi shielding his eyes. "What the-"

"Torokashitara Haineko!"

I knew how I looked now. There was a layer of ash covering the most important parts of my body in place of my Yukata. It swirled around protectively like moving clothes. Two dark gray ears and a gray and white dotted tail of Ash grew from behind. My hair whipped back angrily as the hot and angry ash threatened to lash out. It rode on the very threads of my spiritual pressure. "I thought this is what you wanted Kenpachi, don't back out so soon." I teased him as I ascended.

Kenpachi smirked. "That's more like it! I don't know where your sword went but come fight me little cat!"

Haineko was gone because in this form up close combat was all I could do. Kenpachi was lucky I was still young and he was more Violence-sexual than anything else. The revealing pseudo-cat would floor most men before my first attack could even reach them.

I didn't have Haineko but I was gone before he could blink, reappearing behind him with my leg stretched out to connect with the back of his head.

With inhuman reflexes, Kenpachi reached and caught my leg mid-strike at the last second. My eyes widened. There was no way he'd seen my movements yet he'd still caught my leg. Shock caused me to hesitate for a moment.

Kenpachi tried to swing me around with that hand but I twisted in his grip, connecting my other foot against his unprotected left side.

He flew to the side, but I didn't expect him to keep his grip on my leg and pull me with him as he went tumbling ahead. Once on the ground he quickly let go in shock. I jumped back, observing the angry red marks and singed Yukata on his body. "Did you think my new look is just for show? Torokashitara Haineko. The Ash cat that melts."

Kenpachi growled lightly, climbing back up. "Cheap Trick."

"As if. Should we test it out again?"

"Hell yeah," Kenpachi was up and at it again in a heartbeat. He didn't even give me time to prepare for the attacks. The ash around my body was harmless to me but it tore and burned anyone nearby. It improved my speed and reflexes dramatically as well.

Kenpachi's torso was healing already- surprising me. His healing didn't get this good until AFTER he fought Ichigo before. Worry creased my brow and I had to push it to the back of my mind to focus fully on the fight.

It wasn't too challenging in the end. With my ash to protect my real body from the fight, it wasn't long before Kenpachi was wearing. Instead of frustration at losing he was grinning from the exhilaration. "It's been a long time since I felt this."

"Felt what," I questioned, flipping over him as he brought his sword down into the dirt.

"This exhilaration. I want to get stronger," He leaned heavily on his sword until it pressed halfway into the dirt. "I want to get strong enough to kill you."

I rolled my eyes. "I think I prefer staying alive. Are we done yet?"

Kenpachi tugged his sword out of the dirt and brought it around in a circle, causing me to jump to dodge.

"I'm not even started."

* * *

The fight with Kenpachi had been exhilarating and by the time the others woke they could only toss curious glances at Kenpachi's sour face and the scorch marks across his Yukata. Nobody questioned the large and slow healing scratch on my cheek either. Kenpachi had definitely delivered his share of hits and I didn't heal nearly as well.

And then came the days of routine. Every week Rose would ask why we weren't going to Soul Society. Every day Aizen would interrogate and add his opinion to our current position. Sparring with Zaraki became normal. Until we stumbled across a run down and quite abandoned hut on the hills. A hut that I could paint from memory. I would pretend it wasn't tears but the sun that stung my eyes as I drank in the sight. Rotting wood, blackberries climbing one wall surviving the dust somehow and a clearly destroyed roof.

Everyone expected the complaints from rose but nobody expected Aizen to be so complacent in fixing up the place. He could always see underneath the surface so maybe that's what he did to me. Maybe that was why he never criticized my decision to stay there as I poured over plans with him in the early hours of the morning. As we trained and honed skills that were already near-perfect. The nearest town was sketchy as could be but the violence was at a minimum.

Until one morning, a year from our move-in date, Rose complained quite loudly about a missing sack of konpeito he'd kindly relieved a merchant of just last week.

"You probably ate it," I teased from my position on a sleeping roll, I was staring intently at a well-written piece of paper. The others couldn't read- except Aizen I was sure- so I never bothered discreteness. As it was paper was so hard to find this far out. I reached into a sack next to my sleeping spot and stopped my hand. "Hey Rose, did you take my paper?"

"What? No, I'm asking about my candy, not your paper."

"The candy isn't important, Yachiru probably got into it. But papers really hard to find out here. I know I have at least three more sheets..."

Scoffing, Rose turned his nose up. "If you aren't gonna help me find the candy I sure won't help you find your paper!"

And we accepted our mutual losses as such.

However, soon random things started to go missing. Rose's candy, my paper, Zaraki's sake, Yachiru's ball game, and then the last straw came when Aizen's _glasses_ went missing. We had accepted our own losses just fine but when Aizen of all people was slighted- it had to have been in the middle of the night- we knew there was a problem. Someone as meticulous as Aizen didn't just lose something and none of us was stupid enough to tease him of all people.

So a plan was devised. We'd catch the sneaky little rat that had stolen our stuff. Kido wasn't my strong point but I didn't necessarily have many weak points. It took Aizen and me two weeks of practice- during which time my arms became thoroughly torn up- before we perfected it.

The kido was amazingly simple. An invisible barrier around the hut that would activate when someone passed it and through an invisible channel would activate a seal on my wrist. The seal was so minor it just caused a slight tingle- enough to wake me up so I could catch the intruder. More likely than not it was just some kid who didn't know what he was getting himself into. A non-violent end would be best. Well, maybe a few little hits to teach him not to steal from those bigger.

Three days and I was starting to wonder if our paranoia was uncalled for. But then one night it activated. Zaraki was sleeping against a corner with Yachiru in his lap. Rose was sprawled out close to me and Aizen, of course, e had his own carefully laid out space in the middle of the room. I kept my breathing even. Whoever was sneaking was quiet as a snake. I couldn't hear footsteps but could feel the slight spiritual pressure of someone sneaking about.

It felt so familiar when I finally recognized it I was floored. I was convinced I was dreaming. Screw the plan. I shot up as the intruder was barely past the door frame and lunged. The following scuffle and loud thud as I landed ungracefully on top of the intruder woke the room. A flare of spiritual pressure from both of us as wide eyes, brimming with nearly every emotion in the book, stared into cool blue ones devoid of anything.

It took a good moment to find my breath. I swore I wouldn't meet him this time. I swore I wouldn't get him involved. A name fell from my lips, one I hadn't spoken in decades. "Gin?"

Most surprising to everyone just waking in the room, including myself, was his return: "Rangiku?"


End file.
